Play our Little Game
by Purplerose128
Summary: Ibushi Arima had lived up to his family's expectations his whole life, in all but one category. After repeated insinuations that he should have a girlfriend, who would be a better stand-in than Akoya? (AKA the "pretend to be my girlfriend" AU that I thought this fandom needed)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone!**

 **This is the result of me reading too much fanfiction and having too much time on my hands now that college is done until the fall for me. This was originally going to be a oneshot but... I don't think that happened. Anyway, this is my first fanfic for the Boueibu fandom and I have a couple more ideas for Boueibu fics because holy hell this anime took over my life.**

 **I hope you like this. :)**

* * *

There were certain pressures that came with coming from a family as prestigious and the Arimas, superpower owner of state-of-the-art hospitals stationed worldwide. Images had to be kept up; no one could afford to get their hands dirty unless it was absolutely unavoidable.

For Ibushi, the future head of the family, most of the expectations were placed upon him. He had to look and act the part of the Arima family successor, be the poster child of wealth and success. Grades had to be above-average, authority must be taken in club activities, and he was to associate with only the best that he could find.

So, when his parents started giving him a hard time about not having a girlfriend, despite attending an all-boys high school, Ibushi thought that the weight was finally too much to bear. He'd met expectations in every other part of the mold he was trying to fill, but dating… it was something Ibushi didn't have the desire or time for. On top of schoolwork and Student Council affairs, he had started being tasked with smaller jobs within the family business to prepare him for his future. Where would he have time to go out and find a girl who would put up with such a full schedule and measure up to what his parents deemed a "perfect girl" for him? It just couldn't be done.

He'd voiced this concern of his during a Student Council meeting a few weeks after the girlfriend matter first came about. Of course, it was after everything else essential was taken care of and the trio were silently sipping tea in the club room.

"Hmph, I agree with you." Kinshiro huffed "Dating is too messy to even think about dealing with."

"Sounds like you speak from experience, Kusatsu-san." Akoya teased with a smirk.

"Friendships are complicated enough." The Council President went on, undeterred "Add in romance and you're better off walking through a mine field." He finished off his tea and pushed the cup away. Arima took the hint and stood to pour him some more.

"But it doesn't seem like they're letting up." Ibushi claimed "They find some way to bring it up every week."

"Why not just say you're not interested?" Akoya questioned "That worked for me."

"I feel like your parents are the most lenient out of all of us." Kinshiro reasoned, taking the refilled teacup in his hands.

"Probably." Arima sighed as he put the kettle back where it was.

"Then…" Akoya sipped his tea "maybe just make them _think_ you have a girlfriend?"

"And how would I do that?" Ibushi wondered "They expect to meet her too."

"Just find some girl you know who'll pretend to date you." Akoya proposed "Have her over for dinner one night, meet up with her for "dates," that kind of thing."

"That might work, actually." Kinshiro concurred "If you're careful."

"But I don't have any female friends." Ibushi complained "Who in this school could possibly pass as a girl and _want_ to be my pretend girlfriend?"

Kinshiro cocked his head to the side before both he and Arima looked directly at Akoya, who was twirling a tuft of his hair between his fingers absentmindedly and blinking at the other two boys. His fingers stopped once he got the message "Me?"

"You _do_ always over-perform when the school holds a crossdressing event." Kinshiro admitted.

"And you're certainly…" Ibushi had to think of the correct way to word this "beautiful enough to be mistaken for a girl."

Akoya's eyes lit up as he smiled and blushed "You really think so?"

"Of course." Arima assured "I don't think anyone can do a better job than you."

Akoya giggled "Then I accept."

Over the next week, Ibushi kept collaborating with the second-year on their plan. They started coming up with times for potential "dates" and a cover for Akoya. His family may have been less strict, but neither of them thought that the Geros catching wind of this scheme was a good idea. It wasn't that hard to find an alibi since Akoya loved wandering around the city on his own. A simple "I'm going out" was good enough. But still, it was better to be prepared than to have the plan backfire on them somehow.

The next week was when they decided to officially start "dating." Ibushi had a meeting to attend at one of his family's local hospitals regarding the business' funding and two of his parents' supervisors were accompanying him for observation. It seemed like a good time to spring the surprise, since every notable event at the meeting was going to be retold to his parents. So _Operation Fake Girlfriend_ was set to go that evening.

Just to add more legitimacy to the charade, Ibushi put his acting skills to work during the meeting, pretending to be a bit flustered and that his mind was elsewhere at the start. A short time after the meeting commenced, he started speeding through lesser important points on the agenda and did everything in his power to keep statements short.

It took almost the whole meeting for someone to actually question him on his behavior. "What's the hurry today, Arima-san?" A doctor asked.

"I know." A nurse agreed "Arima-san's usually so patient during these meetings."

Perfect. "Well, uh… I told my girlfriend that we'd go on a date tonight and to meet me here at five." He glanced at the wall clock again, faint gasps from the employees at the meeting fading into the background.

4:45. And, knowing that Akoya was very punctual, he'd be here about five minutes early. Showing up at the end of the meeting would be a great way to leave this off on.

"I didn't know you were dating, Arima-san." One of his supervisors interjected.

"Yes." The other continued as she wrote something down on her tablet "How long has this been going on?"

"Oh, uh, we only started dating last week…" Ibushi claimed.

He managed to end the meeting at five minutes to five with no sign of Akoya quite yet. That was fine, he was probably trying to find the conference room or something. He was putting the last of the notes and reports away when he heard one of the women in the room gasp "Arima-san, is that your girlfriend?!"

He looked up and saw a few nurses had flocked over to the big glass barrier between the hallway and the meeting room. And it didn't take them too long to zero in on Akoya because, come on, it's Akoya. He turned heads wherever he went.

"Oh, the one with the pink hair? You did say she had pink hair, right?"

"Oh my gosh, I love her dress!"

"She's so pretty!"

"And you were being all modest when you talked about her."

Arima felt the heat rush into his cheeks as he finished packing away papers "Yeah, uh, that's… her…"

Someone took the liberty of inviting his "girlfriend" into the conference space, where "she" instantly gravitated towards him "Hi, Ibu-chan." Right, they settled on pet names too… that was gonna take some getting used to.

Of course, like everything else he did, Akoya filled into the role he was given perfectly. His hair was in a side braid that hung over his shoulder, like when they went to the beach as a club awhile back. A peach colored dress covered in lace clung to him and somehow made it look like he had a more feminine figure, he even had a purse in hand- and holy hell was he wearing lip gloss?!

"H-hi, Akoya." At least that surprised tone was real.

Akoya tentatively glanced around the room "I'm not interrupting am I, is your meeting over?"

"Yeah, it's over. You're fine."

"Then, are you ready to go?"

Ibushi looked back at his supervisors apologetically "I'm sorry I didn't say anything about my plans sooner, I wanted it to be a surprise."

"I suppose we can let this slide…" The woman with the tablet muttered, taking no more than quick glances at Akoya through her glasses "But we are letting your parents know about that."

"Of course." Ibushi smiled before turning his attention back to Akoya "Come on, let's go." Akoya nodded and the two headed for the door "Good work everyone."

Two steps out the doorway, Ibushi felt delicate fingers lace between his own and grip gently. He was surprised by the sudden gesture but returned it nonetheless. After all, Akoya was only adding to the image they were creating.

They held hands all the way to the elevator, not saying a word until the doors had closed them in, leaving them alone.

"So," Akoya began "how was I?"

"Perfect." Ibushi praised while he ordered the elevator to take them to the first floor.

The shorter boy grinned "Good."

Ibushi stepped back and the elevator started with a little jolt "But…"

"What? What is it?" Akoya nervously blurted.

"I didn't expect you to go all-out on the first date." Ibushi mused as he looked at his friend- oh my god, the lip gloss had sparkles in it!

Akoya's cheeks turned pink and he settled to stare at his cream-colored flats "Well, I… wanted to make a good first impression." The blush darkened and his speech quickened "And I've been looking for an excuse to wear this dress for a while now."

"You mean you already owned it?"

A pink braid flopped off of Akoya's shoulder as he gaped at his friend "Of course I did, look how pretty it is!" The younger boy's face was officially the same color as his hair when he looked away again and let go of Ibushi's hand to fix his braid "I bet that sounds stupid, huh?"

The older boy just stared down at him for a moment, at a loss of what to say. Arima knew that Akoya liked feminine things and bought whatever he saw and thought was pretty, but he would always look guilty after these bits of self-indulgence. It was almost like he was waiting for he or Kinshiro to berate him for what he liked. Sure, Kinshiro very passionately ranted about what he didn't enjoy and why it should be destroyed, but he never expressed malice towards Akoya's fashion sense or spending habits. He just accepted it and Ibushi did the same. He was a six foot tall heir to fortune and he liked gardening, who was he to judge?

That was when the right words came to him.

"No, it's not." Deep blue eyes peeked over pink locks to look at him "I think… it suits you."

"Oh…" Akoya's eyes flicked back to the tile flooring "thank you."

The elevator stopped and opened on the first floor and, with the scenery, Akoya's mood changed. He latched back onto Ibushi's arm and smiled as they stepped towards the building's exit "So, where are we going? You promised me dinner remember?"

"I did." Arima concurred "I made a reservation at this Italian place a few blocks down. I hope you don't mind if we walk there."

Akoya snuggled a bit closer, clearly comfortable being back in character "Not at all."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this one's a bit short; it's mostly set up for the next chapter. I hope you like it anyway!**

* * *

"Hmm…" Akoya gazed at articles lining the wall with a fisted hand pressed against his lips.

In another hour he'd have to meet Arima for another "date" and, despite it having been a month since he's started falling into this role, he could still never decide on what to wear. He blamed it on the size of his closet. It was the same size as his bedroom, with racks filled with clothes on every wall. Options abounded for him with every turn of his head and yet nothing stuck out to him.

Akoya sighed and ran his fingers over a row of dresses. It had to be casual, a walk around town didn't require anything more. But… he wasn't in the mood for any of them today.

Surely this would have looked ridiculous to an onlooker, if he had one. A teenage boy rifling through what looks like his sister's closet wearing nothing but a bathrobe wasn't exactly a common sight. But Akoya wasn't a common sight either, he had to remember that. No, he wasn't to be ignored, not even in the role of Arima's girlfriend.

Akoya's gaze stopped on the smallest section in his whole closet: the darks. It was kind of like the black hole of the space, the one spot on the walls where appealing pastels were erased by blacks, browns, navy blues, and deep purples. It was usually the section he ignored, only selecting something from it if he found where he was going to be particularly melancholy. It was usually the "boring meeting" section or the "I snuck out of the house no one notice me" section.

But today… something in that section that he'd yet to wear caught his eye. And Akoya supposed he could liven that piece up with the right accents. So that's exactly what he did.

When he finally emerged from his closet fully dressed, he unlocked his phone and saw a text from his "boyfriend" saying: _Plans have changed._

Great… that meant they were going on an actual date for the whole outing.

Akoya sat on the edge of his bed and typed back: _Really? I wasn't expecting this._

About a minute later, Ibushi responded: _I know. I'm sorry, but… my mom's stubborn._

* * *

Ibushi sat on a bench in the park waiting on Akoya. He was a little early, but he wanted to get out of the house. If anything, to just avoid a little more of his mother's grilling.

" _Honestly, Ibushi, you've been dating her for a month you haven't even invited her over yet!" She cried "You should bring her over for dinner sometime; we can even take her out somewhere if you'd like."_

" _I guess I can ask her when I see her today." He'd replied "I just don't want to scare her off by saying 'I want you to meet my parents.'"_

" _Oh come on, dear, we don't bite. I just want to see if this girl's worth your time."_

" _She is." He tried to tell her "Just trust me."_

" _All I'm gonna say, son, is that if you don't show her off to us soon, I'll find you two myself."_

And that was when he politely speed-walked out the front door. Ibushi had to laugh, though. Worth his time… if only she knew he'd already spent one whole school year with "her" before this. Akoya would be taking up some of his time either way.

To kill some time, Ibushi took out his phone, deciding that playing solitaire was more entertaining than scanning the park over and over again for his "date."

He just hoped that he and Akoya's charade and eventual "break-up" after a few more months of pretending would be enough to get his parents off of his back on this. If anything, he hoped it would lighten up a bit afterwards, letting him cope with a "broken heart" and all.

Arima was pulled from his musings when he heard a distant shout "Ibu-chan!" He looked up from his phone and noticed fluffy pink curls bouncing as Akoya strode towards him with a wave worthy of a beauty pageant.

 _Hmm… not a dress today._ He noted upon noticing his friend's outfit of choice: a sleeveless black top and pink skinny jeans. Over the past month, it had become as commonplace for Ibushi to see Akoya in dresses and skirts as it was to see him in the school uniform. Yet it was still amazing to him that Akoya owned as many feminine clothes as he did. It wasn't exactly a shock, but Ibushi didn't think he'd seen his friend wear the same article more than once yet. And the black… he didn't think Akoya even _owned_ black clothes.

Arima pocketed his phone and stood to greet his friend.

Akoya stopped in front of him and immediately started toying with a section of his hair, reaching to adjust something he had pinned on the side of his head "I'm sorry, am I late?" Oh god, he had a hair bow in too!

"No, I just got here early." Ibushi assured.

The shorter boy grinned up at him "Okay, good."

Ibushi smiled back before clearing his throat "You look lovely," he commented "as always."

Akoya giggled "Thank you."

Ibushi reached over and took Akoya's hand in his own "Any spot in particular you wanna go?"

"Um… can we go get crepes?"

Arima smiled and nodded "Whatever you want."

The pair started their walk to the crepe stand hand in hand, silent until Akoya adjusted the tiny purse hanging by his hip "I can pay for mine if you want me to."

"I got it." The taller teen insisted "I invited you out; I'm treating you."

"Oh…" Akoya's cheeks got a little pinker "alright." He smiled again "Thank you, Ibu-chan."

When they reached the crepe stand, they each chose a flavor and Ibushi paid for both: a strawberry whipped for Akoya (he should have guessed) and a banana custard for himself.

They wandered down a random path while nibbling at their snacks, quiet aside from the occasional sound of pleasure coming from either boy as they ate. The path was unoccupied aside from the two of them for some reason, despite the good number of people they'd seen a bit earlier. Ibushi supposed that no one else was in the mood for a walk.

"Hey… Arima-san?" Arima looked Akoya's way in time to see him lick from whipped cream off the side of his mouth "Do you really think someone who works for your parents is following us today?"

Ibushi swallowed the bit of treat in his mouth "I'm not sure." He admitted "My mom's getting pretty insistent on meeting you lately."

Akoya sighed "Doesn't she have anything better to do than hover over you?"

"She's a fast worker, so I'd assume not." Ibushi commented "But still… maybe we should just… get that part over with?" He proposed "Maybe she won't bother with it much if she and my dad get to meet you."

As if to put off answering, Akoya took another bite of his crepe. He made a "hmm" noise as he chewed and then swallowed "I guess we can't help it. What day do you want to do that?"

"When's most convenient for you?" Arima questioned before taking another bite.

"Um…" Akoya looked to the sky as if it had a calendar hanging in it "Friday night? I can stash some clothes in the club room and we can go after we finish our work?"

"Are you sure you wanna risk someone seeing you?"

"We leave the council room after dark lately." Akoya pointed out "And if Zaou can sneak his girlfriends into the school after hours, so can you."

If Ibushi had crepe in his mouth, he would have choked on it "Don't say it like that!" He scolded, cheeks turning a light pink "You make it sound like we're gonna do something we're not supposed to."

"We kind of are."

Arima got a little redder "You know what I mean!"

"I'm just saying I don't think anyone that may see me would care." Akoya declared with a pout "Besides, thanks to those pretty boy contests, the whole school's seen me in a dress before."

"If you're sure about that…"

"I am."

Ibushi sighed "Alright. Friday it is."


	3. Chapter 3

**Heey, so I don't think I mentioned this to you guys yet but I have a Tumblr! (Unless of course you found this story through Tumblr, in which case ignore me) I'm mostly a gay anime trash blog these days, but if you want to give me a follow anyway or come chat with me about my writing, you can find me there under the username Purplerose128.**

 **Also, thank you guys for the reviews/follows. Each one makes me smile like a dummy. :P**

* * *

Friday morning Akoya had no problem at all stashing his clothes for the evening in the club room. Sure, it would have been easier to stuff them in his schoolbag and be on his way but… most of Akoya's more formal attire was either poofy or easy to wrinkle… or both. So that definitely couldn't happen if he wanted to look his best when he met Arima's parent, which he sure as hell did.

Really, it shouldn't be as easy as it was for a student at this school to get away with carrying transparent weather proof garment bags through campus. Akoya got a few weird looks from people, of course. But when one's school has a monthly pretty boy contest and the students were known to go all out for it, suddenly seeing makeup and dresses on anyone's person didn't seem so weird. It was actually one of Akoya's favorite things about that time of the month. He could see so many pretty things in the school and bring in his own without criticism. It was wonderful.

When he got to the club room that morning, Akoya wasn't surprised to find Kinshiro already inside. The president was sitting at his desk, with only the lamp on, reading a small stack of papers. He looked up when he heard the door open and seemed a bit surprised to see his fellow council member "Akoya? You're early today; usually Arima's here before you."

"I know. I wanted to beat the crowd today so this doesn't get jostled around." Akoya tilted his head towards the bagged dress slung over his shoulder before carefully draping it over one of the couches.

"Is that for you and Arima's thing tonight?" Kinshiro questioned, attention now fixed back on the papers.

"Yeah." The younger boy affirmed "I thought it would be easier if changed and went straight there after we did our work."

Kinshiro nodded "Makes sense to me." He fell silent after that and Akoya made himself comfortable on the couch before he spoke up again "If anyone asks, the dress is for the pretty boy contest?"

"Right." The council secretary affirmed.

"Also," Kinshiro continued "I'd like you to look over the budget for the next school festival. I'm tired of staring at it."

Akoya sighed and stood to walk over to the desk "If I must." Kinshiro took a stack from his paper piles and handed it to him "Honestly, if that plan with Naruko hadn't fallen through, we wouldn't have to do this extra work."

"You can always spend your time finding another candidate for treasurer." The elder boy commented "You're the only one who complains about it."

"Because you're a workaholic and Arima doesn't mind extra assignments." Akoya sat back down, crossing one leg over the other, and started scanning over the proposal "You're lucky this doesn't cut into my beauty sleep."

"I think it's you who's lucky, Akoya."

The younger teen perked up "Really?"

"Of course." Kinshiro deadpanned "For at least getting your tasks done before complaining about treasury work."

"Right…"

It was another fifteen minutes before Arima entered the club room with his own garment bag slung over his shoulder. He greeted his fellow club members and immediately noticed Akoya's outfit slung over the couch "I'm going to guess that's what you're wearing tonight?" He playfully asked as he lain his luggage beside Akoya's.

"Of course."

"Beautiful." Akoya looked up from his papers and saw Arima's soft eyes and gentle smile was aimed his way, almost endearingly.

Akoya grinned back "You expected anything less?"

"Oh no, I know exactly how pampered the club's pet is." Ibushi joked, earning a pout and stern stare from his kouhai.

"Arima." Kinshiro interrupted, voice flat and demanding.

The vice president's smile grew soft again as he faced Kinshiro "Of course, President."

And thus the morning tea ritual began, Arima pouring each member a cup of the day's chosen flavor. He traded off Kinshiro's cup with a portion of the paperwork and, from there, the trio fell into silence as they worked until they heard the warning bell for homeroom and parted ways for the morning.

* * *

The school day came and went as normal and before Akoya knew it he was back in the Student Council room with Kinshiro and Ibu-cha- no, Arima. Granted, that afternoon they did wind up conversing more than actually doing their work, but each discussion stemmed off of an assignment they were working on. He and Arima wound up spending way too long trying to convince Kinshiro not to take curry off of the school's lunch menu ("Come on, you're the only one in this school who doesn't like curry!"). And then replying to the gardening club about giving them more places to plant brought out Arima's passionate side (Which Akoya helped pass thank you; the school could use some more beauty). And then there was the matter of the figurine club wanting to start back up again, which Kinshiro and Arima were fully against. Meanwhile Akoya… was insistent that a requirement for the club's existence was adding a life-size statue of him to their collection. Their request was ultimately denied.

It was quite welcome to see their to-do list dwindle down to a few tasks that could be put off until the following week. Or, if need be, a short meeting regarding them over the weekend. It was about 5:30 when Kinshiro decided that the three of them could go their separate ways for the time being and, upon the president's leaving, Arima and Akoya started going about changing into their dinner attire.

Which… turned out to be more awkward than expected. Not that they haven't seen each other undressed before, but for some reason… this was different. Maybe it was because Akoya was getting dressed up, which he almost always did by himself in his giant closet with perfect lighting and tall mirrors. Or maybe it was the context. This wasn't a casual "just got out of the hot spring" change or a "we're going to the beach" change. It was a "get dressed we have to pretend to be dating and look great at the same time" change.

Akoya was more than okay with looking the part and holding character for short periods of time around people he'd likely never see ever again. But tonight he'd have to keep the act on for hours, under pressure to maintain his role in front of people Arima had described as "insistent" and "overly-involved."

What if he couldn't come up with an answer to one of their questions? What if they found out who he was? That he _was_ a he? What would happen then? What would Ibushi be facing if they were caught in this lie?

Akoya took a deep breath as he pulled his dress up and threw his hair over a shoulder before zipping the garment into place. _Everything'll be fine._ He told himself. _Nothing's gonna happen._ His hand stopped moving up, stuck at the place where the dress refused to close any further. Crap, he couldn't pull the zipper anymore!

God, he hated doing this. Akoya felt himself blushing in embarrassment and swallowed "Arima-san?"

There was a pause in the shuffling on the other side of the room "Hmm?"

"Can you pull my zipper the rest of the way up?" Akoya pleaded "I can't reach it."

"Of course." He heard Arima's steps behind him, coming closer, until they stopped and Akoya felt warm hands on his back, one on the half-done zipper and the other holding onto part of the dress near his hip. The zipper whined as he pulled it the rest of the way up and Akoya felt it hug his body a little tighter… and his blushing situation wasn't helped in the slightest "There you go."

Akoya immediately reached for his hair, running his fingers through it once Ibushi's hands left him "Thank you…"

"You're welcome." He heard Arima take a few steps back before the sounds of fabric rustling resumed.

The silence between them was a bit awkward after that, or maybe that was just Akoya and his stupid easy-to-fluster self. He hated how simple it was for someone else to make him feel embarrassed or force his cheeks to turn pink. He did it the first time Kinshiro and Arima saw him in girls' clothes, the first time they all went to a hot spring together. Hell, the worst was during that little vacation where Zaou tackled him to the ground and practically stripped him in the process. And then Naruko only make it worse when he picked a leaf out of Akoya's braid. Oh, it took well over a week to not color from reliving the moment that refused to leave his memory.

 _Okay, okay… just change the subject._ He told himself. "So, should we go through my back story one more time?" Akoya asked, pivoting to look at Ibushi "Just to make sure I have it down?"

Akoya's face immediately got hotter. Ibushi was only about halfway done buttoning up his shirt, his dress pants being the only thing that was securely on him "Um, sure. If you think we should."

 _Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait!_ Akoya's mind reeled _He wasn't even suitably dressed a few minutes ago? Oh god, he was shirtless wasn't he? Or was he only down to his boxers? Why does that even matter, stupid, you've seen him NAKED before!? How come this is suddenly bothering you?_

The second year gripped his hair like a vice "Uh, no, no. I think we'll be okay. Just… if you wanted to…" He trailed off.

Arima finished buttoning his shirt and swiped his tie off of Kinshiro's desk "I remember it."

"Good…"

Akoya faced the wall again and found his fingers going through his hair instinctively. It seemed the only thing that always calmed him and got his face to look semi-normal again was to play with his gorgeous locks. It was a good thing he had to do that anyway; it was bound to be knotty by now. All he needed was his brush and mirror and then he could just escape the world. So, until his nerves calmed and the bristles effortlessly flowed through every strand of pink, that's exactly what he did.

All he had to do for the rest of the night was stay in character. He could manage that much.

* * *

For Ibushi, getting himself and Akoya off of school grounds was (thankfully) uneventful. Binan was almost always dead of activity when the Student Council stayed for late nights of work. And while some evenings at school were… interesting (he couldn't count how many times he'd heard awkward moaning coming from the janitor's closet in passing), this was one of the mundane days. Not a soul was to be found in the halls nor in the gardens outside, which was more than welcome given their current situation.

The only real issue was actually leaving the council room. Akoya had been glued to his little mirror and mindlessly running a brush through his hair for nearly twenty minutes, lost to the world. It took calling his name out a few times to pull the younger boy out of his daze and start packing up his things.

It wasn't exactly uncommon for Akoya to fall under a hypnotic state when staring into a mirror, but this time it seemed just a bit off. Though, Ibushi's suspicions were thrown off a bit when his companion's behavior was otherwise normal afterwards. It didn't take a genius to realize that Akoya was a little high-strung but… for some reason this time felt off. At least it didn't seem to have a lasting effect.

Ibushi reached out and grabbed Akoya's hand as they approached the gates and he noticed the car that had been sent by his parents parked out front. By the time the pair had gotten to the sleek black limo, Ibushi's driver was already holding the back seat door open for them. "Good evening Ibushi-san." He greeted.

"Good evening." Ibushi responded as Akoya slid inside the vehicle.

He went to do the same when the driver leaned a bit closer to him and whispered "She's pretty." He smiled a bit as Ibushi's face got a little redder and he climbed into the back seat with Akoya. Seconds later, the door was closed on them.

"What'd he say to you?" The younger teen questioned.

Ibushi huffed and scooted closer "He said you were pretty."

The drive to the restaurant was quick thankfully, no longer than twenty minutes. It was also quiet, mostly comprised of the boys sitting silently and watching the world go by with the occasional small talk from their driver.

Ibushi knew the place that they were going to well. His parents frequented it when they were both in town and always made sure to go there together on their anniversary. The establishment was called Onsen, which he found ironic since the place didn't have a hot spring of any kind. Regardless, it had quite a reputation and was one of the nicest places to eat in the entire city. But when they pulled up to the concierge, he still had to ask his date "Have you ever been here before?"

Akoya took another glance at the building out the window, a white structure with a well-maintained garden and giant windows "I haven't." He admitted.

The car door was opened for them and Ibushi took Akoya's hand again as they exited, moving towards the restaurant's front door "I think you'll like it. The food tastes as good as it looks."

"Great."

Ibushi stopped them near the hostess, who returned his smile "We're with the Arima party."

"The other members have already been seated." The woman claimed, gesturing to the doorway behind her "Right through there."

Ibushi thanked her before leading a distracted Akoya deeper inside the building "Something got your attention I see." He smirked.

"Those marble pillars are beautiful…" Akoya practically whispered.

Ibushi smiled at his companion fondly before going back to the task of locating his parents, which only took another few seconds. His mother and father were seated near the back of the room at a table set for four. He looked at Akoya again and found him staring up at one of the crystal chandeliers above them with sparkling eyes, mouth slightly agape "Akoya."

The shorter boy was pulled from his trance "Hm?"

"They're over there." The taller stated "Let's focus on that for a bit."

Akoya nodded and they began weaving through tables hand in hand. Ibushi's father noticed them first and stood to greet them while his mother idly gazed at the menu in her hands.

"So that's her Ibushi?" That was when his mother's attention was gained, even if it was just eyes flicking up from the menu.

"Yes it is." He confirmed.

Akoya released his grip on Ibushi's hand and took a step forward with a smile "Hello I'm Akoya, Ibushi's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you." He recited with a bow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, I'm proud of myself for updating this fic as quickly as I am. It usually takes me forever to stop procrastinating. I guess that means I'm having a lot of fun with this one, I hope you guys are too.**

* * *

"Hello I'm Akoya, Ibushi's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you." Akoya bowed and put on his best smile for Arima's parents, his character immediately taking over.

When he stood back upright, he got his first real look at them (stupid pretty things and distracting him). Akoya could tell immediately that Ibushi inherited most of his physical traits from his father. The man was only a few centimeters taller than his son, broad-shouldered, and he had eyes that were all too familiar to Akoya. Mr. Arima's hair was a warm brown color with just touches of gray here and there. He smiled at Akoya through his mustache and said in a welcoming tone "It's nice to meet you too, Akoya. I've wanted to see you since we were informed Ibushi had started dating."

Mrs. Arima cleared her throat and put down the menu that was hiding half of her face. And the look she gave Akoya was… a bit unsettling. Her face was bonier than her husband's, which made her neutral expression somehow look more sinister than it actually was. It looked kind of like Akoya had insulted her and was trying to stay as dignified as possible. Regardless, a small smile carved itself into her stone expression "Hello, dear. Why don't you and Ibushi have a seat?"

Oh, right, seats, those existed. Akoya's arm reached out to grab the back of the chair closest to him, but found it colliding with something else. He looked over his shoulder and noticed Arima was behind him, both his hands already on it "Allow me." He assured before pulling the chair out and gesturing towards the seat.

Akoya blushed and brushed the skirt of his dress as he sat down "Thank you, Ibu-chan."

"You're welcome." Ibushi pushed in the chair for him before taking the last seat at the table.

Mrs. Arima cracked her first genuine smile of the night at her son "Ibu-chan? I didn't know you two were already so close."

Ibushi's cheeks colored slightly "I-It's just what she calls me." He stammered "And I don't mind so…"

"You don't have to explain a pet name to us, son." Mr. Arima reassured "Every relationship had it's little… things."

Okay, this was getting really awkward really fast. Akoya moved his arm up to touch his hair again, but flipped open the menu in front of him instead. Yes, this was much better. At least he looked busy now instead of just uncomfortable. Ugh, he had only been with Ibushi's parents for five minutes and he wanted to leave. Or, well, his dad seemed nice enough but… his mom was kind of intimidating.

"So, Akoya," Mr. Arima piped up, gaining Akoya's attention "Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself? Ibushi's barely told us a thing about you."

"Yes, I'd love to know more about the girl dating my son." Mrs. Arima added.

Akoya stiffened in his chair. _Test time._ He thought as he instinctively reached for a part of his hair "Well, what would you like to know?"

"Why not start from the beginning?" Mrs. Arima proposed "How did you meet Ibushi in the first place? It couldn't be through school, so where?"

"Of course, um…" Akoya's eyes flicked to Ibushi "but I don't tell the story as well as you do, Ibu-chan." Which was true, since he had a bigger role in it than his date.

It seemed Ibushi got the hint and spoke up "Alright then. You know that little shopping center by my school?" His father nodded with a hum "Well, I was there with Kusatsu, the president of the Student Council, since we finished our club activities for the day. We were just wandering and then…" He looked at Akoya with a smile "I saw her, just staring at this dress in a store window." Akoya felt himself smiling as he listed to their little fable "Kustatsu caught me looking at her and he… pushed me to talk to her."

"He's a fine boy, that Kusatsu." His mother added "A perfect heir from my understanding."

"Oh, he is." Ibushi agreed, almost autonomously "But, I just… walked up to her and complimented the dress she was looking at and-"

"The rest is history?" His father wondered.

"Yes." He affirmed.

Akoya giggled a little "You startled me though." Ibushi immediately looked his way "I was in my little world and then suddenly this stranger was next to me."

Ibushi put his hand over Akoya's "You know I didn't mean to scare you."

"I do, just…" Akoya beamed "it's funny because I'm kind of glad you scared me."

Ibushi smiled back at him and replied "Me too." Akoya could have sworn he felt his stomach flutter just a little bit.

The next forty five minutes consisted of more awkward conversation with the Arimas, mostly revolving around Akoya. Geez, Ibushi wasn't kidding when he said they needed to prepare for literally every possible question. They started out easy enough, with his mother complimenting his dress and asking where it was bought ("On a trip to Paris," completely true) and other ice-breakers. "What social class are you? (Upper-middle) What does your father do? (He… works in finance) What are your plans for the future? (She wants to be a model)"

Akoya knew what the Arimas were trying to do: figure out if this "girl" was worthy of being associated with their son. It was interesting how he noticed that each of Ibushi's parents seemed to have their own concerns, based off of the questions they asked him. His father was more focused on background and what kind of education Akoya had had, which were both understandable. Come on, who in this social standing would want some gold-digging peasant into their lives? Mrs. Arima had very different things on her mind. Namely, how well-bred Akoya was of all things. Seriously, your kid's been dating someone for a month and you're trying to figure out if they'd make acceptable babies or not?

Finally the waiter had taken their orders for the main course and, having picked enough at his salad, Akoya excused himself to the bathroom. He really needed a few minutes to breathe. He brought his clutch purse with him; maybe playing around on his phone would help.

He swung the corner and made his way down a hallway that led to the kitchen on one side and the restrooms on the other. He heard some people down the way of the kitchen calling out orders or trying to figure out who took the thing they were using. Akoya examined the walls as he went on his way, appreciating the lovely golden striped wallpaper and the framed art hanging over it. Seriously, how had he never been here before? It was so classy in here!

Unfortunately, his focus on the decorating left his body going on auto-pilot, right until his hand was pressed against the heavy wooden door leading into the men's room. That's when he went back to focusing on what he was doing.

 _Idiot, you can't go in there like this!_ He scolded himself. _God, you should know this by now!_ Either Akoya had to better remember what he wearing or more places seriously had to consider the option of gender neutral bathrooms.

He sighed as he backed up a few steps and peeked inside the women's room. _Empty, perfect._ Akoya went inside and stopped in front of the sinks, staring at his reflection in the big mirror above them. At least the stress wasn't showing strongly on his face like he thought it would be by now. Everything was still in good shape; no hairs terribly out of place, no smudges in his makeup, and he'd yet to screw up once that night. If only any of those facts helped his nerves.

He knew doing this for Ibushi was going to be more than just meeting up with him sometimes and texting him more often. He knew that this would be involved and even dangerous if they were found out before the inevitable "breakup" that would be coming in a few more months. They couldn't be discovered in their sham, especially where Akoya's gender was concerned. That would just make things even harder to explain than they already were. Akoya took a deep breath. He prepared himself for this, Ibushi prepared him for this. But it was still scary to not have full control over the situation like they did on their little "dates."

The second year leaned against the countertop and fished his phone out of his clutch. Maybe Kinshiro updated his Snap Chat; that was always amusing in one way or another. He unlocked the device and, sure enough, that exact thing had an update. Akoya smiled at his friend's latest picture of Lord Zundar doing something to add to the collection that was forming in his Snap Chat story. This one was just a picture of Kinshiro's school uniform with the hedgehog poking out of the breast pocket. On it was a caption that said "He's back from the pocket dimension."

Akoya giggled at the pun before moving on to something else to occupy him for a few more minutes… which turned into looking at pictures of kittens and pretty dresses on Google. A good ten minutes went by in that manner before Akoya decided to slip his phone back in his clutch and get back to the dinner. He took a breath again before making his way back to the table.

When he stepped out of the restroom, Akoya locked eyes with someone familiar. "Huh? Gero?"

 _Shit. Shitshitshitshit!_ Akoya cursed. What was Kinugawa doing here?! Ugh, why couldn't he even have ten minutes without stress tonight?

"O-oh, Kinugawa." He nearly choked, great just great "What are you doing here?"

"I'm having dinner with my family." Atsushi claimed. That's right; the Kinugawas actually have money! "Why are you here…?"

"U-uh, Arima-san treated me to dinner tonight…" At least he wasn't lying to someone else tonight.

Atsushi nodded and hummed. Akoya saw the other boy's eyes scanning over him, like he was trying to figure out what was going on with no other clues. He looked over Akoya at the door, then looked him over again before smiling and saying "I hope you're having a nice time tonight." He walked towards the door to the men's room "See you in school."

Akoya released a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Kinugawa didn't seem the type to gossip, but it was still unnerving to see someone he knew like this. Pretty boy contests were one thing but… what would people at school do to him if they found out he dressed like that on a weekly basis? Or that he went out in public dressed like this weekly? Ugh, if he thought the bullying was bad in elementary school…

 _Nothing you can do about it now, Akoya._ He told himself as he resumed walking. _Just get back to the matter at hand._

Amongst the other chatting and the noise coming from the kitchen, Akoya distantly heard Mr. Arima ask "You really haven't even kissed her yet?"

"No, I haven't." Ibushi replied. Akoya stayed behind the wall, deciding to listen in and see where this was going "I just… I don't want to move too fast on this."

"With how much that girl blushed, I was sure you two have done something by now." Mrs. Arima joked.

It took Ibushi a few seconds to respond to her "Yeah, she's… easily flustered. That's why I'm going slow; I don't want to scare her."

"The way she's been looking at you, Ibushi, I doubt you'll scare her with a little peck or two." His mother assured.

"I agree. Part of me even thinks she's _waiting_ for you to kiss her." His father observed.

"I don't know about that…" Ibushi trailed off.

Akoya sighed. This would be really interesting if only he wasn't the object of the discussion. He had to give Ibushi credit though, his acting was pretty damn convincing all night (he could only pray the same went for himself).

Supposing that he'd better bring about a change of subject, Akoya re-entered the dining area and sat down. "Did you miss me?" He playfully asked Ibushi.

The taller boy smirked at him "Only a little."

Discussion resumed on other topics, again focusing mainly on Akoya until the main course arrived and the sounds of eating replaced those of speaking. And, wow, the food really was as good as the place looked! Maybe Akoya should make Ibushi bring him here again for a "date." Towards the end of the dinner, when his parents were talking with their waiter, Ibushi leaned over and whispered in Akoya's ear "They like you."

Akoya faced him and asked in an equally low voice "Both of them?" All Ibushi did was nod before he put distance between them again.

Things calmed down after that, thankfully. The things they talked about became a bit more casual and even Ibushi's mom gave off a less authoritative aura than earlier. Yes! This was really working!

Soon after, the four of them left Onsen and stood in front of the building while waiting for the concierge to bring the limo they'd arrived in from the parking lot. It was chilly standing out in the night and Akoya found himself rubbing his arms to find some extra warmth. The next thing he knew, he was enveloped in something warm, a jacket that was definitely too big for him.

Ibushi smiled down at him, now stripped of his blazer "That better?"

Akoya nodded "Thank you, Ibu-chan."

"Why don't you two take a look at the courtyard back there?" Mr. Arima suggested, tilting his head in the direction of a set of iron gates that were opened, leading to some kind of garden behind the restaurant. "We've been back there before lots of times." He continued "The pond back there is really quite a sight." Ibushi and Akoya looked at each other and then back at Mr. Arima. "It'll be another few minutes before they come with the car. Go check it out."

Ooohhh, Akoya saw where this was going… he thought. If the earlier conversation he'd heard was any indication, anyway. He beamed up at Ibushi "Can we, Ibu-chan? I'd love to see it!"

He seemed to be caught off-guard by that, but Ibushi still smiled and told him "If you want to, sure."

The two of them wandered towards the gate and heard Mrs. Arima call out "Five minutes."

Ibushi snaked an arm around Akoya's waist "Okay, Mom." They walked until they were out of sight and then Arima released Akoya. "Sorry, they're being… a little insistent."

Well, just because he knew what was going on didn't mean Ibushi knew he knew "What was that about?" Akoya questioned.

"… They want me to kiss you."


	5. Chapter 5

**So yeah, kissing might be a thing...**

* * *

"What was that about?" Akoya innocently questioned.

"… They want me to kiss you." Ibushi almost cringed when he saw no change in the younger boy's expression.

He thought back to the talk he had with his parents without the other boy present, how the topic of discussion gradually changed from Ibushi's progress in school to his apparent lack of "drive" in his relationship. He expected that transition when Akoya left, even prepared for it a little bit. But he didn't expect them to like his "girlfriend" as much as they did.

" _Oh, she's just darling!" His mother had cooed "And so pretty!"_

 _His father nodded "Yes, I think you got a good one, son. I'm proud of you."_

" _I'm glad you like her." He awkwardly replied._

" _I am too." Mom commented "I was worried you'd found some commoner girl without a lick of decency. I'm pleasantly surprised Akoya's as well-mannered as she is. Though, I suppose she's grown up in a similar environment to you… even if she isn't quite of our class."_

" _I'd still watch her, hun." Dad interjected "She might just be looking to get to our money."_

 _Ibushi sat up straighter in his chair "Oh, no… Akoya didn't know the extent of it until I told her about this dinner."_

" _It's still best to keep a look out." His mother decided._

 _It was silent for a moment before his father spoke up again, trying to change the subject "So, Ibushi… how far have you gone with her?"_

 _He almost choked on his water before coughing it down "What?"_

" _Well, have you kissed her yet?" Dad expanded "I haven't seen you do more than hold her hand."_

" _Oh, no, uh…" Ibushi stared down at his empty salad bowl "not yet."_

" _You don't have to hide it from us, Ibushi." Mom assured "We approve of her, right Dear?"_

" _Why wouldn't we?" Dad agreed "Akoya seems like a good girl for you."_

" _I'm not hiding; I'm being honest." Ibushi assured._

" _You really haven't even kissed her yet?"_

Don't get him wrong, Ibushi was glad the plan was working. But he was expecting at least some resistance from Mom and Dad when they first met "the girlfriend." Comments of "Are you _really_ interested in this girl?" or "Do you _really_ think she can make you happy?" were what he… almost wanted. So that then when the "breakup" occurred he could at least say "you were right; I'm gonna wait until I find someone that's perfect." It would give him time and, should the dreaded arranged marriage ever come up, options.

Ugh, they hadn't even prepared enough for this stage yet! Setting the whole thing up had been most important until now; discussing if kisses were okay wasn't even on the table yet! Ibushi sighed and supposed he and Akoya would have to improvise. But, for now, just staying back in the garden for a bit should be enough to satisfy his parents.

"I… kind of figured." Akoya admitted. Wait, what? They were on the same page here? "I uh… overheard them talking to you before I came back from the bathroom."

Ibushi blinked and his eyes widened a bit "You did?"

Akoya nodded "And they've been giving… pretty strong hints since I came back."

"I'm sorry." Ibushi turned away to look at the garden "I had no idea they'd go this far."

"It's fine; they're just trying to help you."

Ibushi chuckled. Y _eah, help me get under your dress!_ Akoya cracked a smile. Then he started laughing into the side of his hand. What was- oh crap, did he say that out loud?!

"I thought you _wanted_ that, Ibu-chan." Akoya made his voice sound particularly high (and whiny) as he spoke, throwing on doe eyes and a little pout for added effect "I mean… isn't that what people in relationships do?"

Ibushi was certain he was comparable to a tomato at this point "Not all the time!"

Akoya laughed again and slipped his arms through the sleeves of Ibushi's jacket. "I know; calm down." He quietly laughed for a few more seconds before calming down "Just trying to change the mood a bit."

"How come?" Ibushi wondered "My parents?"

"No." Akoya huffed "Did you notice anyone else in there?" Ibushi supposed his silence was taken as a no, so Akoya continued "Kinugawa's here too. He saw me and we talked for a minute in the hallway."

"Oh…" Wow. That reply was _impressive_ Ibushi, just _stunning_.

"Yeah. I don't know how to feel about it either." Akoya pulled the other's jacket closer to himself, fiddling with one of the buttons "He usually keeps his mouth shut, but that doesn't mean he won't question me on Monday."

"From what I've seen, and what Kinshiro's told me about Kinugawa, you shouldn't worry too much. He's not one for conflict." Ibushi confided.

He could barely hear Akoya when he whispered "Then why am I still on edge?"

Ibushi ran out of words of comfort and turned his attention back to the garden in front of them. So far, they'd just stuck close to the back wall of the restaurant and hadn't ventured very far from the gate; just far enough to be out of sight really. But, now that Ibushi was looking at it for more than a few seconds, it was a prettier garden than he remembered.

He'd been back here before a couple of times and he'd seen it from the windows inside, but it seemed more complete for some reason. Ibushi scanned over the flowerbeds before him and noted the different species growing there. Chrysanthemums, azaleas, water irises… hello.

 _Maybe…_ He pondered as he left Akoya and knelt down before a flowerbed on the edge of the pond's perimeter. There was a whole patch of these familiar flowers, like the one he'd grown himself during his first year of high school. He smiled at the sea of long yellow petals, interrupted only by the spots of black in the flowers' centers. Maybe… the flowers will help him get his point across.

Ibushi plucked the best looking specimen from the patch and walked it back over to where Akoya stood, watching him with a puzzled expression. He wordlessly moved some of Akoya's hair out of the way and slid the flower's stem behind his ear.

Akoya immediately colored and took a step back "What was that for?"

"It's a Black-Eyed Susan." Ibushi explained "In the language of flowers, it means encouragement."

Akoya looked at the small flowerbed Ibushi plucked it from "I've never seen those flowers before."

"They aren't common around here." The older boy explained "I had to send away for seeds when I wanted to grow them."

Akoya was quiet for a moment before he stepped closer to his companion "What else can the flowers around here say?"

"Um…" Ibushi looked around the garden and found himself wandering farther inside, Akoya staying close behind "These bushes of chrysanthemums represent a lot of things, depending on their color. In general, they represent cheerfulness or friendship. But these white ones are associated with truth." He gestured to a row of flowery shrubs they were passing. Taking a turn to follow the perimeter of the pond, he continued "Then there's the azaleas, which could mean temperance or, in China, are a symbol of womanhood. Oh, and…"

* * *

Akoya didn't think that the night would evolve into Arima giving him a crash course in the language of flowers, but there they were. He was just trying to get rid of the awkwardness that settled in when Arima put the flower in his hair. It was a nice gesture, but… it seemed everything was making Akoya blush that night. He figured asking about the plants would change the mood again and, wow, was he right! Ibushi perked up in an instant and began walking down the path while voicing facts about what the flowers represented.

In a way, it was kind of cute: seeing him showcasing his knowledge like that. Normally Ibushi only spoke when he was spoken to or trying to keep the peace between Kinshiro and Akoya's bickering. Sure they'd spoken a lot since this fake-dating scheme was hatched, but it was fascinating to Akoya just how much a person can change when they talk about something that they love. Their eyes light up, their speech rarely falters, and they visibly relax as they speak. It was something amazing that people did and yet showing passion was so looked down upon. It was sad, really.

"… I'm sorry I'm rambling on now, I just think this language that's formed around all of these plants is so interesting." Ibushi slowed to a stop and looked over his shoulder at Akoya "I didn't bore you too much did I?"

"Huh?" Akoya jumped a bit when tuned back into reality "I spaced out, sorry…"

Ibushi visibly deflated "So I did…" A faint beep resounded and he fished into his pants pocket to take his phone out. He tapped on the screen a few times before turning his attention back to Akoya "My mom said they brought the car to the front."

"So we're heading back then?" The younger boy asked.

"Yeah, that's her way of saying 'I'm tired of waiting let's go.'" The older explained.

"Okay."

"Unless you want to stay here for a little longer?" Ibushi offered.

"No offense, but I'd like to go home." Akoya admitted.

"Alright." Ibushi typed a response before pocketing his phone again. Then, he reached out for Akoya's hand. "Let's hope we don't' get anymore… awkward questions."

Akoya took his hand out of the other's reach "Oh, I have an idea!" He opened his little clutch purse and plucked a tube of lipstick out of it before closing the flap back up. He quickly applied a new coat to his lips and rose to stand on his toes. He grabbed Ibushi by the shoulders and gave him a peck on the cheek. When he was squarely back on his feet, Akoya opened his bag again, used his phone's camera as a mirror, and fixed the little smudges his action caused. When he was satisfied, he put his phone and tube back and closed up the bag again. "Now they'll think something happened, right?"

Honestly, it was kind of funny to see Ibushi right after that unexpected display. He was staring at Akoya wide-eyed, the younger boy's gorgeous shade of pink lipstick adorning his right cheek just an inch from his mouth. Within seconds, the pink nearly blended in with Ibushi's flushed face. Akoya couldn't help but giggle.

Ibushi pulled at his collar "Y-yeah, they won't _think_ …"

And that also set the poor guy up for more teasing from his parents later on. That was a plus. Just because they were "dating" now doesn't mean Akoya wouldn't push his buttons and mess with him when he had the chance.

"Come on." Akoya pleaded, grabbing Ibushi's hand with both of his own and dragging him along "They're waiting, right?"

"You know, this might do the trick." Akoya stopped when he noticed Ibushi's voice sounded like he'd fully recovered. When he turned around, Ibushi continued "You're blushing too." He smirked and successfully made Akoya blush more.

"Sh-shut up!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again!**

 **Sorry this chapter took a bit longer to get out than the others so far; the past two weeks have been filled with plans I've made with my friends, including a beach day and going to New York City for Pride over the weekend and having a blast there. Hooray for same-sex marriage being legal in all 50 states now! XD**

 **...Also this chapter was just hard to write for some reason... and it's longer than usual and I'm still not really happy with it but I just want to move onto the next one already. I hope you guys still find it enjoyable though.**

* * *

From the second Ibushi saw his parents' reaction when he and Akoya met back up with them, he knew that the ride home was going to be a long one. When the two of them had come back to where the car was to be pulled up, the Arimas immediately noticed Akoya's lipstick adorning their son's cheek. Ibushi could have sworn he saw his mother smirk and his father nod as if he was approving of the development. All the while, Akoya just clung onto his arm a smiled like nothing was wrong, still covered up by his date's blazer. Maybe it was his imagination, but Ibushi could have sworn Akoya was even being a bit bubblier than before they went into the garden. Perhaps it was just Akoya's character reacting to the "kiss" or something.

After a minute or so of that silence, the car pulled up to the front of Onsen and the four of them piled into the back of the limo. The party was silent, apart from the driver asking where Akoya was to be dropped off. When this date was planned, the two of them settled on parting ways at the train station a few blocks from Binan. The location was neutral to both of them, so it wouldn't bring Ibushi's parents to question Akoya's true identity. Though the younger boy originally complained about spending time at a place as "disgusting" as the public train station, they both decided that it was good for one other thing: convenience.

In the quiet ride to the station, Ibushi managed to calm the nerves that had been stirred earlier that night. But that was easy to do now that his parents had stopped talking and he was doing nothing more than leaving his hand on top of Akoya's for the ride. Conversation only picked up again once the car had come to a stop near the station.

Akoya was the first to speak "Thank you for dinner."

"You're welcome, dear." Mrs. Arima replied "It was lovely meeting you."

Akoya grinned "It was nice meeting you too." The chauffeur opened up the door and Akoya's eyes widened, mouth forming a small "O" shape "Oh!" He shrugged Ibushi's jacket off of his shoulders and held it out to the older boy "Sorry Ibu-chan, I forgot I had it."

"It's okay; I don't mind." Ibushi smiled back at him and started putting it back on "Do you want me to wait with you for your ride?"

"If that won't hold all of you up."

"We don't mind waiting a little while." Mr. Arima claimed "Ibushi could wait with you."

"Okay." Ibushi slid out of the limo first, hand still linked with Akoya's "I'll be back soon."

"Alright, honey." His mother responded before the chauffeur closed the door and went back to his place in the driver's seat.

The pair had a small walk to the station because of a problem finding a place to park. Akoya shouldn't need to be walked such a short distance by someone else, right? But the younger teen had insisted that, for the sake of the ruse, he should always be accompanied while waiting for a ride home. Neither one of them said a word until they had distanced themselves from the car.

"You have a driver coming to get you right?" Ibushi questioned.

"Yes." Akoya replied "They should be here any minute to pick me up."

"Alright." They walked for a few more steps, hand in hand, before Ibushi released his grip in favor of just walking side by side. His hand was starting to get clammy for some reason, probably some leftover excitement from the kiss he'd gotten earlier that night.

They fell into a silence after that and continued their walk to the train station, not bothering to walk side by side again because now it was _right there._ Everything was fine, just walking a few steps behind Akoya, until Ibushi heard a whistle from somewhere up ahead of them.

"How's it goin' hot stuff?" A masculine voice called out. Ibushi glanced around to try to find whoever said that and, in the process, noticed Akoya already had eyes on someone. It must have been that guy, leaning against one of the stone walls of the station.

Akoya stopped walking and held the man's gaze for a few seconds, facial expression hardening and showing light disgust "Why don't ya ditch that twig next to you and come be with a real man?" The stranger went on, crossing his arms over his chest with a cocky grin.

Instantly, Akoya latched onto Ibushi's arm, never taking his gaze off of the man "Come on Ibu-chan, let's go."

It felt like Ibushi's stomach had tied itself into a knot after he heard those comments aimed at Akoya, but he obeyed and they resumed their walk.

"Aw, come on, I don't even get a smile? You'd look so much prettier if you did." The tone the guy used right then was nothing short of sickening.

Ibushi clenched his fist. His jaw set and he stopped to set his gaze on the guy. He felt rage beginning to burn inside of him because _how dare_ someone talk to Akoya like that! How dare someone talk to anyone like that! Ibushi may have teased Akoya occasionally, poked some fun at him out of boredom, but at least he had the respect to avoid anything that sounded so… disgusting!

He was ready to break his peacekeeping nature to intervene, but then Akoya detached himself from his side. He pivoted back to face the man, hands folded in front of him, and the sweetest looking smile that he could force on his face. Akoya's eyes slipped closed and he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side before he chirped "Do you know what I think would be pretty?" Akoya put a foot forward "Your blood on the sidewalk."

Ibushi froze once he processed what Akoya had just said. And, clearly, the man that sentence was aimed at did the same thing. He even took a step back.

Akoya continued, tone never wavering "And I'd love to do that myself but," he stepped closer to the man "you see," another step "it would be such a shame to get my dress dirty, especially in front of my boyfriend. Don't you agree?"

The stranger's confidence visibly deflated. He was now backed up against the wall, eyes wide and shifting as if to find a way out. Without another word, Akoya backed off and held onto Ibushi again. In seconds, his façade came down and he led Ibushi away, saying nothing more than "Come on, Ibu-chan."

Ibushi found himself following Akoya's command without protest, focus suddenly turning from the shaken creep to Akoya. His face was stern looking, like he was ready to do something as un-beautiful as that again if he needed to. They heard from behind them the stranger had come back to his senses and shouted at them "You crazy bitch!"

Surprisingly, Akoya did nothing but roll his eyes and kept walking.

If Ibushi wasn't so shocked by what had just happened, he probably would have given Akoya a round of applause for how he handled that situation. Ibushi felt proud for Akoya until one thought crossed his mind: he must have practiced that a lot to be so good at it. And that thought brought the sickness and anger back to the front of his mind. This must be something Akoya faced regularly, at least at some point.

He kept quiet and followed the other's lead until they were inside the station, where Akoya found a bench for them to sit on. And the minute they were both seated, Akoya's phone was out of his purse and in his hands.

Ibushi wanted to say something, he really did, but where could he even begin? How does one respond to seeing somebody else get verbally harassed on the street? He'd never seen anything like that before, never thought a person would be so bold and vulgar towards someone they'd never met before. This actually happened to people? Was he really that sheltered? But… Akoya came from wealth too. How come he could perform so well against that guy while Ibushi just stood there not knowing how to act?

Thankfully, Akoya spoke up first. "Disgusting pig." He grumbled under his breath. "Filthy swine. He's one of the things I want to purge from this world."

"… Has that happened to you a lot?" Ibushi wondered.

"Almost every time I go out alone in my girlier clothes." Akoya spat "Especially at night."

"But, why-"

"Because they think I'm a girl." Akoya interrupted, anger clear in his voice "And they think girls like that kind of attention but no one does."

Ibushi was quiet for another minute, mulling over what Akoya had said until something hit him "But you dress the way you like when we're out with Kinshiro. How come it never happened then?"

Akoya stopped tapping at his phone's screen. "When I'm with you or Kusatsu-san, usually no one says anything like that because they make assumptions in their head. I guess this one wanted to try his luck anyway. Or he was intoxicated or something."

Ibushi thought he felt his heart sinking. "But I was-"

"Right next to me." Akoya finished for him "Yeah, I know. He didn't care." There was a pause. "You know…" Akoya looked up from his phone to meet Ibushi's eyes "the good thing about looking like a girl is nobody questions what section of the store I'm shopping in. But being mistaken for a girl also means running into filth like him." His phone made a pinging noise and he looked back down at the screen. "My driver's here." Akoya stated as he stood up.

Upon hearing that, Ibushi suddenly felt protective "I'm walking you to your car." He declared, standing himself up.

"I'll be okay, go back to your parents." Akoya assured him. "My car's right outside."

"No, let me." Ibushi insisted. "You…" He glanced away quickly before meeting Akoya's gaze again "it'll make me feel better."

A soft smile graced Akoya's lips "Okay."

They went back outside and made their way towards Akoya's ride home. Ibushi kept close to the younger teen, checking to see if that guy was still on the sidewalk. Thankfully, he wasn't in sight and that made them both feel a little better. But Ibushi still brought Akoya to his car and only walked away once he was safely inside the vehicle.

On his way back to his own car, Ibushi undid the top button of his shirt and loosened his tie a smidgeon. His next and final task of the night was surviving the ride home with no pink filter keeping Mom and Dad from throwing out even more embarrassing questions.

* * *

After getting home from their dinner date, the weekend flew by for Akoya. Maybe it was because on Saturday he treated himself to a spa day, or because on Sunday the maids had cleaned out the forgotten things in his closet, resulting in an afternoon shopping spree. He had to say, one of the things he loved most about coming from a family as wealthy as his was the fact that just saying his name could illicit just about anything. The best masseur on duty, the highest quality mud masks, complimentary services… it was always the best for him, especially when he was trying to forget about something.

It was strange, though, what Akoya's mind wandered to as the days progressed. He caught himself wondering if Arima-san would notice the effect that the mud had on his skin, if he'd comment on Akoya's brand new, shiny manicure (which looked damn good by the way; he'd have to have that woman do his nails every time he went there). And Sunday night, while he was overseeing the new pieces of his wardrobe going into his closet, he found himself smiling at the thought of wearing some of his new outfits on "dates" with Ibushi. He'd caught the older teen staring at him more than a few times already, clearly in some kind of admiration or awe. Based off of those events, Akoya could guess what would get a similar reaction out of the third year… and may or may not have bought a few articles just to see said reaction.

Then he came back to reality, just in time for the maids to finish stowing away his clothes and taking their leave. He waited until the door clicked closed after them before flopping down on his back, staring up at the salmon-colored canopy above his bed. He really was starting to take this whole thing too seriously, wasn't he? It wasn't like this fake girlfriend role that he played was a new identity or anything. It was just a performance he was putting on, like in dancing or gymnastics. It was nothing more than that, Akoya was very aware of that fact. And yet… that's where his thoughts took him until he decided to focus on the homework he'd yet to complete.

He'd managed to forget about everything that was troubling him over the weekend, until Monday morning came and he had to go to school. School meant catching Kinshiro up on their endeavors, which would be nothing more than a mild annoyance, and he could handle his weird "thinking of Ibushi" moments at a later date. What Akoya dreaded the most was running into Kinugawa, especially since he couldn't come up with a… better reason for being spotted coming out of the women's bathroom wearing a poofy, lacy dress.

Unfortunately, that issue became important _after_ the morning run-down of date night with the Council President.

"So you really kissed Arima?" Kinshiro asked after it was brought up for the third time that morning.

"On the cheek!" Akoya protested. "I thought if they saw my lipstick on Arima-san they'd let up a bit." He looked to the third year in question. "I know you told me they're persistent people, but at least my parents know when to back off and just let things happen."

"I'm sorry!" Was Arima's only reply.

"Well, _did_ it get them to stop forcing you two together?" Kinshiro asked.

"While Akoya was in the car…" Ibushi mumbled. "After he was dropped off at the train station, their attention was on his lipstick."

Akoya giggled. "Sorry, Ibu-chan." He was feigning a cutesy voice again "At least the color looked good on you."

Arima put his head in his hands "My dad wouldn't stop praising me until we got home…"

"I suppose getting Mister 'If-You-Touch-My-Hair-I'll-Cut-You' to kiss you _is_ an accomplishment." Kinshiro reasoned.

"Kusatsu-san!" Akoya screeched.

"Whose side are you on?!" Arima yelled at the same time as the second year.

"It was just an observation." The president took a sip of his tea before looking back at Akoya "Now, back to that incident at the station you mentioned."

Ugh, he thought talking about the kiss would throw Kinshiro off that topic! Akoya paled "It wasn't that bad, President."

"Did something happen?" Kinshiro pressed.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." The youngest council member reassured.

"What does that mean?" Kinshiro implored.

"All you need to know is what I told you." Akoya insisted. "I talked to Ibu-chan-" He blushed a bit when he caught the nickname coming out of his mouth "Arima-san afterwards. He escorted me to my car. End of story."

"But…" The president and secretary both eyed the vice-president when he spoke up, sounding the same way he did when he was trying to stop the other two from bickering "you seemed really bothered before you left. You were angry."

"Hmph." Akoya looked away from him and tilted his chin up, arms crossing "I think I had every right to be after what that pig said to me."

Kinshiro sighed and muttered something about "getting nowhere" before changing the subject to their latest plans regarding their next move as Caerula Adamas.

After that discussion, their morning meeting came to an early close. Kinshiro excused Akoya and Arima at that point, as they had nothing more required of them to do until after classes ended. The white-haired teen claimed to have one more thing to finish up and would "prefer to do it in peace and quiet." But that now left the vice president and secretary with a half hour to kill before homeroom began and neither one knew what to do. They were usually in the council room until the five minute warning bell rang; what were they supposed to do with themselves?

The pair wound up standing outside the club room for a few minutes, straining their ears to figure out what Kinshiro was doing by himself in there. It wasn't long before they heard him speaking and, shortly afterwards, Lord Zundar's voice joining him. Figures, the guy was _always_ with Zundar.

"What do they talk about without us there, I wonder?" Akoya thought aloud.

"Maybe different strategies?" Ibushi suggested. "Or our progress?

"Or nothing related to that at all." Akoya shrugged. "By the way, when's our next date?"

Ibushi seemed a little flustered when Akoya looked back at him, like he'd been caught off-guard somehow. "How about Saturday?" The taller teen suggested. "It's getting warmer out; maybe you and Kinshiro can come use my pool?"

Akoya smirked at him. "You just wanna see me in a girls' swimsuit, don't you?"

Ibushi deadpanned. "Akoya, I already have."

"Oh, right." The second year mused, recalling some of his wardrobe choices during the club's beach trips. He looked at the door before turning to walk down the hall. "Might as well leave them to it." He looked up at the third year. "What are you going to do now?"

"I was thinking about going to the library to look around." Ibushi informed him. "Do you want to come with me?"

"No, I'll leave you to your gardening magazines. I'm sure I can find something to do around here."

"Okay. See you this afternoon then." Akoya could have sworn he saw a small frown, but Ibushi turned towards the stairs and made his way down regardless.

Hold on. Did Ibushi _want_ him to tag along? Did he still want company before everyone went to their respective classes for the next six hours? He thought about following Ibushi when he heard two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Oh, Gero." Akoya froze upon hearing Kinugawa's voice and looked up to see the third year approaching him from the stairs. Oh, and perfect, he had Yufuin with him as usual.

"Yes?" He gripped the straps of his school bag a little tighter.

"You haven't seen Ryuu around this morning have you?" Atsushi wondered. "We've been looking for him to discuss a Defense Club matter."

Akoya wanted to scowl when he heard Zaou's name, but he didn't. He had to stay civil. "No, I haven't." That didn't mean he couldn't make the answer short and sweet.

"Okay. Thanks, though." Yufuin went to go back in the other direction until his companion spoke up again. "Oh, and how did you like Onsen last week? You seemed kind of on-edge when we spoke there; was everything okay?"

"Huh?" Yufuin piped, deciding to lay his chin on the other senior's shoulder.

"I went out to eat with my family last week and saw Gero at the restaurant." Atsushi summarized.

"Ah." Yufuin blandly replied. "I think you told me about that."

"Oh, um…" Akoya's fingers flew into his hair, grabbing the first bit they found "It was excellent; I had a good time."

"I'm glad." Kinugawa grinned. "My family knows a lot of the people who work there, so we go there to eat a lot."

"I see." _Please stop talking to me._

"Atsushi." En called. "Let's keep looking. I want this meeting over with."

The blue-haired teen smiled at the head on his shoulder. "Alright, En-chan." Yufuin removed himself and turned back towards the stairs. "We'll see you around, Gero." Atsushi rushed follow his friend down the stairs until he caught up and they walked on side by side.

Akoya waited a minute before heading down the stairs himself, making his way towards his homeroom as if on autopilot. But halfway there, he stopped and found himself considering meeting Ibushi in the library again. He thought about it for a minute before deciding on just going to his homeroom. There were probably only ten minutes until it started now anyway; it wouldn't be worth it to track his senior down only to spend a little more time together.

 _I'll see him in the afternoon anyway._ Akoya reasoned as he took his seat in the back of the classroom and slipped his phone out of a pocket on his bag. Maybe Kinshiro put something else up on Snap Chat…


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again, everyone! I'm sorry for the delay in posting this chapter; the past few weeks have been filled with birthdays, a convention, and my parents being on vacation from work so they wanted to do things with me and my sister. Because of all that, I didn't have a lot of time to write but things have finally calmed down and I actually already have the next chapter in the works so hopefully that one won't take as long to put up.**

 **Thank you all for putting up with me and my horribly irregular posting of things. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.**

* * *

After a few days of endless Student Council and Caerula Adamas work, Ibushi and Akoya finally found some time to further discuss what they'd dubbed "The Fake Girlfriend Project." They'd come to a bit of a milestone, since Ibushi's parents had accepted Akoya with minimal hesitation… but that might also cause an issue, they'd realized. If Akoya's character was too perfect, then their "breakup" in the upcoming months would feel forced and, more importantly, meet more opposition from the Arimas than Ibushi would care for.

Oh, he could hear his mother now… he was exhausted just thinking about her reaction. _"Why'd you let that girl go, Ibushi? She was perfect, absolutely perfect, what happened between you two?! Whatever it was, you'd better go to her and make it right! Get down on your knees and beg if you have to!"_

That, without a doubt, had to be avoided. Which was why he brought the issue up during his walk home with Akoya one evening.

"Hmm, that is a tough call…" Akoya mused, staring ahead of them. "I could always get clingier after a while longer? Playing the overly attached girlfriend might work."

"I'm not sure about that one." Ibushi countered. "I've gotten smothered so much by my parents that they'd probably find it endearing you do the same."

"Then I get more distant?" Akoya questioned.

Ibushi chuckled at the thought. "You? Back off of something you're supposed to care about?"

He saw Akoya glance up at him, giving him a little glare before looking back ahead. "Good point… and we see each other almost every day because of school; reactions wouldn't be genuine enough."

"Wait, I got it!" Ibushi exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "Do you remember why my parents didn't want me to date a middle-class girl?"

"Wasn't it something about them" Akoya made air-quotes with his fingers. "'tainting the gene pool' or something?"

"Yes, that." The two of them stopped at a crosswalk and Ibushi pressed the button. "But there was something else to it… they didn't want me to start acting out."

Akoya tore his eyes away from the stagnant light across the street and looked up at the older boy. "What are you implying, Arima-san?"

"Why not make them think you're a bad influence on me?" Ibushi elaborated. The crossing light turned green and they continued walking, but most of Akoya's attention was still on him. "Like… what if we start going out more? Or I come home ten minutes after my curfew? Or, or! What if I pretend to be putting less effort into my homework because we're Skyping?"

Ooh, this was getting exciting now! Ibushi'd never broken his parents' rules before; just the idea gave him a bit of adrenaline! Maybe he could even convince Akoya to actually do a few commoner things with him, like that time the Defense Club dragged them to the arcade. Akoya did like the photo booth thing that they had; they'd even make a nice souvenir or evidence for Mom and Dad to "find." But getting his prissy "girlfriend" to agree with him would be the hardest part by far.

Ibushi was brought out of his little fantasy by the sound of giggling beside him. He looked down and noticed Akoya covering his mouth, in an effort to mask his laughing, and the corners of his eyes crinkling because of how big his smile must be under that hand. In all honesty, it was adorable. But why was he laughing?

"Sorry, Arima-san…" Akoya managed to say before he giggled some more, finally moving his hand away when he'd calmed down. "It's just you really _are_ more sheltered than me."

"Huh…?"

"I mean, I don't sneak out all the time or anything, but you might have to do a little worse than be ten minutes late coming home if you want your parents to think I'm no good." The second-year went on. "Ten minutes might come off as 'aww he must not want to leave her so he stays back for a few minutes to spend more time with her.' But a half hour or more… _that's_ when they might start to worry."

"Is that how it is with your parents?"

"No," Akoya huffed. "usually it's the maids who worry about me when I'm late, even if it's just my driver got stuck in traffic, with me in the car." They came to a corner of the sidewalk and Akoya pressed the crossing button with his sleeve-covered wrist. "So you're still having me and Kusatsu-san over on Saturday?"

"Yes." Ibushi confirmed.

"Great." The crosswalk light turned green and Akoya pivoted its way. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ibu-chan."

Akoya's cheeks colored once he realized the name he'd addressed his friend by, then strode off with more haste than usual in his gait. Ibushi caught the slip too, but didn't think much of it. He'd probably get the different names confused sometimes too if this was the other way around. "See you tomorrow, Akoya…"

Ibushi's copper eyes followed that bouncing head of pink hair until it disappeared into the crowd. It had become a new habit of his to keep watch for Akoya, ever since they had that encounter at the train station. The younger boy should be fine in his school uniform, yet… it made Ibushi feel better to look out for him.

At least this weekend their date wasn't somewhere public, so he could let his guard down and enjoy the time he was going to spend with his friends.

* * *

God, why was it so hard for Akoya to let his guard down?

Really, slipping out of a cover-up to go swimming was never so nerve-wracking for Akoya. He arrived at the Arima house with his bathing suit already on, for fear of someone walking in on him changing. It was at least relieving to see Ibushi and Kinshiro had similar ideas going when he arrived. Ibushi was in nothing more than a tank top and his swim trunks, while Kinshiro had his suit paired with a shirt and sleeveless hoodie. Apparently, everyone had the same desire for "practicality" as Kinshiro dubbed it. This time, Akoya didn't combat the comment and just stood quietly.

It was at that point that Ibushi suggested that, since they were all gathered now, that moving to the pool was a good idea. Kinshiro shrugged and stood from the chair he was in, grabbing a book that he'd left on the armrest. They headed out back, Akoya trailing a bit behind so that he could take off the cover-up with some sort of privacy. The third-years had already made it to the gate of Ibushi's in-ground pool when they noticed the second-year behind them.

"Akoya?" Ibushi voiced. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just… need to take this off." He tugged at the cover-up's fabric as if to make a point.

"Okay…" Ibushi replied, opening the gate to allow himself and Kinshiro inside. "take your time."

The wooden gate closed with a click and Akoya was as alone as possible. He took a breath before hearing a loud splash. Ibushi must have jumped into the pool. He waited for a moment but no second splash came. It figured that Kinshiro wasn't going to go right in…

Okay, he had to stop distracting himself and get this damn thing off! They were at a private pool, it was just the three of them and a few scattered staff working for the Arimas. No risk of public ridicule, no chance of being seen by someone who would actually care about what he might look like. He took another breath. Swimsuits were such a hard thing for him…

He handled it like he always did: like ripping off a bandage. In one second of bravery, Akoya threw the cover-up off and over his head, quick to fold it with his towel before he changed his mind. It was funny, how stupidly comfortable he was in anything but a bathing suit. As Akoya approached the pool, he could hear his upperclassmen talking.

"Come on, Kinshiro." Arima pleaded. "I invited you over for a swim; at least put your feet in the water."

"I'm perfectly fine right where I am." Kinshiro assured from his poolside chair, shaded with an umbrella and a book in his hands.

Ibushi smiled from his place in the pool. "Alright then." He heard the gate creak open and looked its way. His eyes settled on Akoya and the younger boy could see his mouth open just a smidgeon.

Akoya clenched a fist and brought it to his chest. Sure, he'd worn feminine swimsuits before, and Kinshiro and Ibushi had seen him in them as well, but showing this much skin had always made him feel so exposed, so… naked. He preferred swimming attire that covered him more, like his favorite turtleneck top and shorts. But they were too masculine for this ruse; the top made his shoulders look wider and left little to the imagination as far as a figure was concerned. It made him look more like a box.

What he had on wasn't as comfortable as he'd like it, but the two piece he was wearing definitely did a better job at feminizing his body. The ruffles on his top accompanied by the skirted bottom created illusions for him, leading those who didn't know better to believe that breasts and hips were under the thin cloth. They hid what was there and showed off what didn't even exist… they were perfect for what he needed.

The gate closed behind Akoya and Kinshiro's attention was grabbed due to the noise. He didn't change expression at all looking at the younger boy. "Is that one new?" He asked plainly.

"Uh, yeah…" Akoya felt his cheeks color and he reached for his hair, unconsciously starting to braid it.

"You look beautiful." Ibushi complimented from the edge of the pool, arms resting on the concrete above the water. "But… you don't look too comfortable. You can cover back up if you want to."

"Thank you…" Akoya looked at the ground. Seconds later, he finished his braid and tied it up in a bun. He still felt too exposed… but why did Ibushi's comment make him feel a bit better? "But I'm alright."

"Okay…" Arima pushed off of the wall of the pool and floated in the center. "The water's perfect." He claimed. God, he must have noticed the tension pouring off of Akoya. "Come in."

The second-year gripped the metal railing and took the stairs into the water one at a time. It was a little chilly, but in the rising summer heat the temperature was refreshing. When his feet touched the bottom, the water went up to his hips. As he walked in deeper, the water level rose. Akoya kept going until he was submerged from the shoulders down and leaned against the wall, content to just sit in the water and observe.

Ibushi was laying on his back, drifting about aimlessly in the pool, and Kinshiro had yet to move from his spot under the umbrella. In fact, the only movement Kinshiro made was to turn the page of his book every now and again. Yep, an average day for the Student Council where water was concerned.

Ibushi changed position so that he was floating upright. "Hey, Akoya?"

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you ever put your head under the water?" The older boy curiously asked.

"Because the chlorine ruins my hair."

Ibushi just smiled at him. "I should have guessed." Then, he turned his attention to Kinshiro. "Is there a reason you don't like going in the water, Kinshiro?"

"Chlorine ruins my hair." He blandly parroted Akoya.

To which, the younger boy scowled. "Very funny."

"I'll come in after I finish this chapter." Kinshiro promised.

Ibushi's eyes scanned to the side and he paddled over to the pool stairs to sit down, half of his body still submerged in the water. He held his arms out and smiled at Akoya. "Come here."

Akoya stayed in his place for a moment, confused by the sudden request. Then he heard the sound of running water and noticed a yard worker carrying a hose towards the back garden. The guy was mostly focused on his job of watering the many, many flowers on the property, but he did seem to steal a glance over the pool's way every now and then. So, slowly, Akoya waded closer to Ibushi and took his hands.

"Sit with me." Ibushi suggested. So Akoya sat down next to him. "Huh? I thought you would have sat on my lap."

"Do you want me to?" Akoya questioned.

"I want you to do whatever you're comfortable with." Ibushi leaned in closer. "That includes your wardrobe choices. You can cover up or change if you want."

"I told you, I'm fine." Akoya ignored the blush on his cheeks and made a pouty face. God, sometimes even _he_ hated how stubborn he could be. He threw his legs over Ibushi's and pulled himself into the older boy's lap, as if that proved anything to anyone.

Ibushi wrapped his arms around Akoya's middle and pulled him closer, resting his head on the younger boy's shoulder. It was strange, feeling the chill of the water and the heat coming off of Ibushi at once. Whenever either of them moved in the slightest, the water displaced and Akoya could feel a light current from the motion. It was a sensation he probably hadn't felt since he was really small, when he was learning to swim and someone stayed close.

It felt good to be held again, even if it was just for show. Akoya found himself leaning against Ibushi's chest, relaxing into his touch as their breathing synchronized. He had to admit, it was nice to just sit there and forget about everything.

The two of them were only disturbed when new ripples started batting off of their bodies, then a significantly larger one. It was quiet, but Akoya detected a splash and opened his eyes to find the source. (When did they close? He didn't remember.)

"Sorry." Kinshiro apologized from the adjacent wall, now submerged up to his neck and shirtless. "I was trying not to bother you."

The sound of the hose spraying the plants had grown more distant. The gardener had moved away from the pool, but Akoya didn't want to move just yet. He wanted to stay in Ibushi's embrace for just a little longer, feel the conflicting sensations of heat and cool intermingle, and feel comfortable for the first time since he took off his cover-up.

* * *

"- So that's about it over here with us." Ibushi's mother finished her over-the-phone monologue. "What have you been doing with yourself since we've been gone, Ibushi?"

"We've had a lot of extra Council work this week, so I haven't had much time for anything besides school until today." He explained.

She hummed on the other end. "You know we're coming home next week right? Why don't you invite Akoya-chan over one day when we're back? I'd love to see her again."

"I, uh, actually did today." Ibushi informed her, letting some anxiety slip into his tone. "I had her and Kusatsu over for a swim today."

"Oh, of course you bring her over when we're not home!" His mom whined. "Why didn't you even tell us Ibushi?"

"I don't know; I thought it might bother you and Dad if I called just to tell you-"

"Nonsense!" His mother cut him off. "If you want to have your girlfriend over, don't let us get in the way Ibushi. I'd just like to know is all. Besides, in this heat, you two can use the pool."

"If you really don't mind, I guess I'll talk to her about coming over again…" Ibushi proposed.

"Perfect!" She exclaimed. "Invite her to stay for dinner too; we'll have the chef make whatever she likes."

"Okay."

"Okay." Mrs. Arima replied. "I'll talk to you later, dear. And, if you don't mind, could you take care of the plants in the master bedroom for me? You have this… special touch that the gardeners don't."

"Yes, I'll look at them."

"Thank you, Ibushi. I'll call you again on Monday."

"Alright. Bye." He hung up and put his cell phone on one of his night stands. He looked out the giant bay window next to his bed, taking in the last bits of sunlight hitting the garden outside his bedroom. Ibushi figured he might as well close his blinds and slip into a pair of pajamas; he wasn't going anywhere else after all. So he pushed a button on a remote laying on his bed and the mahogany-colored blinds slid from the ceiling down to the floor, allowing Ibushi the privacy to strip and make his way into his bathroom for a shower.

After drying himself off and putting on his pajamas, Ibushi padded to the other side of the house, where his parents' bedroom was. Inside, there was a long, thin table pushed against the wall with a multitude of potted plants sitting on top of it. He started looking them over, trying to see if anyone had watered them during the day, and his mind wandered elsewhere.

Akoya said he needed bigger ideas if the idea of rebelling was going to work. The question was… what was would be big enough to get their attention without getting in too much trouble?


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, I'm back! One sick doggy to take care of and one out-of-the-blue sleepover later, I managed to string this together. I hope it was worth the wait.**

 **Seriously, I have no updating schedule whatsoever. I'm just glad you guys put up with me, for get the nice comments that make me smile and squeal like an idiot.**

* * *

It was the Wednesday after their little pool party when Ibushi and Akoya began discussing their next moves to take. The second-year was nestled under the soft blankets on his canopy bed, reclined against the pillows as he idly scrolled through his phone that night. It was getting late and he'd completed his nightly beauty routine over a half hour ago, but he wasn't particularly tired yet. So, he wound up laying there in the dark and staring at the brightness of his phone screen. Sleep would claim him eventually.

Akoya'd resorted to browsing around the website of some designer he'd never heard of, just taking a look at the kinds of clothes and accessories they made, when a text message appeared and took up half his screen.

 _Hey, are you awake?_ It was Ibushi.

 _Yes. What is it?_ Akoya typed back seconds later.

Not even a minute had passed before Ibushi replied. _Can I call you?_

Akoya rose an eyebrow at the request. What was so important that he couldn't send it over a text? Or have it wait until tomorrow if speaking was absolutely necessary? Maybe Ibushi couldn't sleep either. Or maybe Kinshiro had called and he was relaying a message?

 _I suppose? Is this important?_ Maybe Akoya could at least figure out the nature of this to prepare himself.

The little bell chime that was his text tone went off again and Akoya decided to put the phone on silent for the time being. _It just won't seem right texting you about this._

Oh, so this _was_ serious. It had to be. _Okay, if you insist._

Akoya closed his web browser and stared at his phone's wallpaper while he waited for Ibushi's call. It was a photo that he'd taken while he, Ibushi, and Kinshiro were at the beach earlier that year. In all honesty, that image of the shoreline at sunset was one of the last calm moments of their trip. After it was taken, the trio had gone to the hot spring for a bath and, on the way back, became separated. The next thing Akoya knew, he was being tackled to the ground by Zaou… and he'd rather not think about anything that happened after that. He sighed. If only their whole trip was as calm and beautiful as the beach was in that picture. It would have been perfect if that were the case.

Akoya's phone vibrated in his hand and Ibushi's name came up on the screen. He answered after three vibrations. "Hello?"

"I'm not keeping you awake, am I?" The older boy's voice asked.

"No; I can't sleep right now." The younger assured. "What was so important you had to call me now, though?"

"It's about our next date. I've been thinking about this idea for a few hours now and I wanted to make sure you were okay with it."

Perfect, their talks about each other's comfort levels were paying off. "Alright. What are you thinking about?"

"Well, see… I was thinking about what we talked about last weekend and… I think you're right?"

"Right about what?" Akoya snuggled deeper under the blankets on his bed.

"About making them think you're bad for me."

Akoya smirked. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, something's gotta give so my parents aren't a wreck when we break up. And they're coming home from their trip Sunday morning so I thought… what if they found out you spent the night without permission?" The older boy suggested. Even over the phone, Akoya could tell he had some mischievous look on his face. But his voice still hesitated a bit, like he was unsure if he should have brought it up.

"Huh?" Akoya said into his phone. "You mean you want to have a sleepover?"

"If you're okay with it." Ibushi assured him.

"I don't have an issue with it but, Arima, are you sure that's not too much?" The younger boy questioned. "With all the implications that come with that and all?"

"I thought about that too. But then I thought… they saw me being so nervous to kiss you for the first time; I doubt they'll think I got the courage to anything more so soon after."

Neither boy said anything for a short while; Ibushi must have been giving Akoya time to think about the idea. And he did just that, turning over possible results in his head. Yes, the plan worked in showing Ibushi being less thoughtful in his decisions, but was the step too big for the state of their "relationship?" Would it be a believable leap to, in just a couple of weeks, to go from having a first kiss to sharing a bed during an "unplanned" sleepover? It could be, so long as they had a decent excuse for Akoya staying overnight.

After a few minutes of listening to each other breathe, Akoya spoke up. "Alright, if you're sure about this." He sighed. "You know your parents better than I do."

All shyness was gone from Ibushi's voice now. "I am."

"Alright then…" Akoya was about to hang up when he realized something. "Are there any other details I should know about, Ibushi?"

"Well… you're more than welcome to take a guest bed for the night but… I think it'll be more convincing is we both slept in my room."

Akoya blushed and sat up. "Are you implying I share a bed with you?"

"It's not like it's too small for two people."

"Right…" Akoya remembered one time when he and Kinshiro were led through the other third-year's bedroom to access his personal garden. He'd taken note that Ibushi had a bigger bed than his own queen size. It was just an observation at the time, but that made it a king size bed. Thank goodness Ibushi wasn't in the room with him; Akoya could feel the heat radiating off of his face.

"Yeah, and we can do whatever you want. Just, if someone knocks on my door, we'll have to make it look more… romantic."

"I figured as much." Akoya claimed.

"Does that mean you're okay with this idea?" Ibushi clarified.

"I suppose so." The second-year replied, his free hand beginning to pick at a loose thread on one of his blankets. "We just need to make sure this comes across as something more innocent. Like… we fell asleep watching a movie or something?"

"I could check the weather forecast for the weekend. Maybe it'll rain and we can blame it on that."

Akoya stopped picking but kept a grip on the blanket. "Not a bad idea, Ibu-chan."

The pair had stayed up conversing for maybe fifteen minutes after that. Though, it was mostly more planning and tossing out a few ideas for their cover-up story. It turned out that rain wasn't in the forecast for the weekend, so the two of them couldn't rely on nature to provide any assistance while formulating a story. Their conversation carried on until Akoya started to yawn into the phone and Ibushi took the sounds he heard as a reason to hang up and let the both of them get some sleep.

* * *

The rest of the school week went by without much incident. That is, aside from the latest failed monster they'd sent to attack those troublesome Battle Lovers. Yet another plot thwarted, but Lord Zundar was sure that they were making progress, though it seemed miniscule to them.

The weekend came and, right on schedule, Akoya found himself being dropped off in front of the Arima house on Saturday afternoon. And he looked super cute, in case anyone wanted his own opinion on his outfit. Honestly, he never thought he'd wear a jean jacket over a dress but there he was, pulling it off beautifully... and trying not to adjust the two little hair bows he had clipped to the sides of his head. Both pink bows were staying in place, save a few centimeters, but it seemed Akoya's hands were convinced that they would slip down if he didn't make sure they stayed stationary.

One more look in the mirror inside the car and Akoya slid out, seeing his driver off as the vehicle went back down the way they came. He took the large bag that had been sitting in his lap and slung it over his shoulder before making his way towards the front door.

Honestly, no matter how many times he walked through the iron gate, the garden in the Arimas' front yard would always amaze him. All the different colors of the flowers, the workmanship of the stone path and the brick flower beds, the well-maintained lawn, everything about it was beautiful. If only the concrete wall gave way to more fencing instead, then more people could see its beauty in passing…

Akoya rang the doorbell and took a step back. He waited not even a minute before a woman in a white polo shirt and black pants answered the door. Huh… must have been a housekeeper or something.

"Oh, hello." She greeted. She looked confused and kind of surprised to see him. "You're… Ibushi-san's girlfriend, correct?"

Akoya nodded and smiled. "Yes, I came over to surprise him. Is he here?"

"Yes, he is." The woman looked over her shoulder, calling out "Ibushi-san! You have a guest!" before looking back at him. "Would you like to come in, um… forgive me, I forgot your name."

"Akoya." Ibushi's voice sounded behind the pair. "Her name's Akoya."

"Ibu-chan!" Akoya squealed upon seeing Ibushi entering the foyer. He slipped past the housekeeper and jogged over to him.

"Hello, beautiful." Ibushi greeted back. Akoya leapt when he was close enough and hooked his arms around Ibushi's neck, who in turn put his hands on the shorter boy's waist. "I didn't expect you to be here so soon."

"I know, I'm sorry!" Akoya went on. "I was gonna go do some shopping in town, but we were near your house and I wanted to see you and I couldn't wait until tonight so I had my driver take me here. I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?"

"Of course not." Ibushi assured. "Here, let me take your bag."

They separated and Akoya took the purse off his shoulder. He held it out and Ibushi took it by the handle.

"So you planned on going out today, Ibushi-san?" The woman wondered.

"Yes, we planned to go out somewhere for dinner tonight." Akoya nodded enthusiastically confirmation. Crap, one of the hair bows slipped down his hair…

"Alright then." She closed the front door and went back to whatever it was she was previously doing. When she was out of sight, Akoya's hands went searching for the displaced bow.

"Think we were convincing enough?" The younger boy asked, gripping the bow when he found it, resting against his ear, and put it back in place.

"I think so." Ibushi answered. "You're a great actress."

"Thank you." The pair headed up the stairs towards Ibushi's bedroom. "I can take my bag back if you don't want to carry it."

"Oh, I don't mind." The taller boy assured. "It's just heavier than I thought it'd be… what's in this thing?"

Akoya looked up at the ceiling and huffed. "You told me not to bring a whole bunch of bags, so I took the largest one I had and stuffed it. I'm high maintenance, you know."

"Oh, I know." Ibushi rolled his eyes. He opened the door to his bedroom and they both entered. "So what now?" He put the bag down on his bed. "Do you still want to set out early or would you rather stay here for a while?"

"I'd still like to go out." Akoya replied, walking over and taking a small clutch purse from inside his bag.

"Then we'll go out." Ibushi declared, swiping his wallet off of his desk.

From there, the two left Ibushi's bedroom and went back downstairs. Akoya waited by the front door while Ibushi wandered off to find that woman again and tell her that they were going out. Akoya heard a brief debate about taking a car, but Ibushi opted out of it and insisted on walking into the city. It seemed that the housekeeper wasn't too fond of the idea, but backed off when Ibushi refused to change his mind. It must have been the "I just want to take a nice walk with my girlfriend" that sold it… or him immediately taking Akoya by the hand as they walked out.

On their way into town, Ibushi explained that she was in charge of keeping track of him when his parents were away, which was frequent. But, surprisingly, she'd only done that job twice since he and Akoya started "dating."

It was strange to Akoya, how differently their families handled them. Sure, the Geros had a small army of people working for them but only about five of them actually interacted with him. The rest of the people who worked for his family, the cleaners, the gardeners, the maintenance workers, even the cooks, they all ignored him unless he spoke to them first. Sometimes Akoya thought that he could disappear for a couple of days and no one would notice, given his parents were away on business. Meanwhile, Ibushi was almost always being watched by someone. Every person who worked in the house spoke openly to him, greeted him when he walked past them, but they were always watching. Akoya wondered which fate was worse: being ignored enough to have some freedom, or being acknowledged enough to become trapped in some spotlight?

They wound up walking all the way into town hand in hand, each content keeping quiet and taking in their surroundings. In fact, Akoya only noticed that they were still holding hands when people walking by them held their gaze for longer than normal. Women in particular smiled and whispered to each other about how "adorable" it was. Once he realized the comments were aimed at himself and Ibushi, Akoya tightened his grip on the hand in his own and hoped he wasn't blushing again.

This instantly gained Ibushi's attention. "What's the matter?"

"People need to mind their own business." Akoya muttered.

"Just ignore them." Ibushi advised. "Is there anywhere in particular that you want to go?"

"Other than for dinner, no." The younger teen admitted, glancing around at the buildings in the immediate area. "I was hoping something would stick out to me…"

"Well…" The older mused. "I might know a place you'd like to see, if you don't mind walking some more."

Their pace slowed as Akoya mulled over the idea. "Alright. Take me there."

* * *

Another fifteen minutes of walking and three crosswalks later, Ibushi found himself and Akoya in front of the concrete walls of the building holding something he knew his "date" would like visiting: a store that sold nothing but scented candles and incense. He was pretty sure Akoya smelled it before he saw it, because a little surprised expression grew on his face as they got closer.

"I didn't know they had a place like this in town." He claimed.

"I thought you got out more than I did?" Ibushi taunted.

"I probably do, but I don't normally go to commoner stores." Touché, Akoya, touché.

A bell attached to the glass door rang as the pair entered the store, the mixed scents of the products pouring into Ibushi's nose. It was a bit overwhelming to him, preferring natural scents to artificial ones, but Akoya took a deep breath with a smile on his face.

"Welcome!" The young man behind the counter greeted.

Akoya had already began wandering down an aisle, leaving Ibushi to do the talking… again… "Good afternoon."

"Are you two looking for anything in particular today?" The cashier questioned.

"Um…" Ibushi looked back towards Akoya and saw him take a candle off of a shelf. "not really; we're just browsing."

"Okay." The cashier chirped. "Let me know if anything sticks out to you."

"Thank you." Ibushi made his way back to Akoya's side and looked over his shoulder at the candle he was holding. The candle itself was contained in a glass jar with a lid and a white label was wrapped around its circumference. Towards the top of the jar, it grew more concave and a ribbon matching the label color was tied. Then he read what the candle was called: "Angel Wings."

Ibushi stepped back and read some of the other labels he could see. "Chocolate Cake," "Apple Cinnamon," "Black Plum Blossom," "Cranberry Pear," the rest of them seemed to have clues about what they would smell like in the name but… what would angel wings even smell like? Would they even have a scent?

He looked back at Akoya and saw he'd taken the lid off and was sampling the scent. It seemed to be satisfactory because he was smiling.

Seconds later, he came back to reality and caught Ibushi staring. "You wanna smell, Ibu-chan?"

He held out the candle for the taller boy, still smiling. Ibushi leaned in closer and sniffed. He figured Akoya would be drawn towards more… flowery scents, so he was surprised when the candle smelled of vanilla and sugar instead. There was a hint of flowery smell to it, but that may have just been the other candles mixing with it. The candle's scent was delicate and calming… and suddenly the name "Angel Wings" made sense.

"I think I'm gonna get this one." The younger teen mused. "Or maybe two; I want to burn them tonight."

Ibushi stood upright again and gawked at Akoya. "That's fine but…why do you want to burn them tonight?"

"You can't put on a mud mask without a nice smell to relax you." Oh god, that voice sounded too sweet to be innocent right now…

"But why at my house?"

That devilish smiles of Akoya's came back. "Because you, Ibu-chan, are going to learn the beauty of them tonight."


	9. Chapter 9

**Let the sleepover commence!**

* * *

"Akoya, is all this really necessary?" Ibushi implored, staring at the ajar door leading to his bathroom.

"Of course it is!" Akoya protested from Ibushi's bathroom. "You haven't lived until you've tried these masks!"

Ibushi quietly huffed and laid back against the mattress. He and Akoya had gotten back to his house not long ago, after their afternoon in the city and dinner at a more casual restaurant in the area. Or, well, more casual for them: still within Akoya's standards but they could come as they were with no problem. Actually, all Ibushi had to do was say "Arima" for the hostess to get them a private room. It was great to just act normally around Akoya for a change. Conversation led to its usual places: school, Student Council, Akoya nitpicking the silverware placements when he got bored. No one had to act or worry about someone else's reaction unless their waiter came in to bring food or see if they needed service. It was just him and Akoya; and it felt great.

After Ibushi paid the bill (because what gentleman lets his "girlfriend" pay?) they walked back to his house. The sun hadn't begun to set yet, but it was getting close to that time. Ibushi stuck close to Akoya's side, holding his hand once they got back into his neighborhood. As they reached the front gate, Ibushi noticed one of the gardeners walking towards the back carrying a pair of hedge clippers. Huh. Must have just finished up.

Upon entering the house and taking off their shoes, Ibushi spotted the woman who let Akoya inside earlier, house assistant Mayu. She was dusting off some framed photos hanging up in the foyer when they came in.

"I'm home." Ibushi called.

"Oh, welcome back Ibushi-san, Akoya-san." She greeted. "How was dinner?"

"Lovely." Akoya claimed.

Mayu grinned. "I'm glad."

Ibushi slipped by her, Akoya in tow. "We'll be in my room; we wanted to watch few movies before I brought Akoya home."

Mayu said "Alright" as they climbed the stairs and headed towards their destination.

Now Ibushi was just sitting in his room because Akoya told him to wait there.

Well, okay, not just wait for him. Before he disappeared, Akoya had given him the candles that he'd bought earlier that day and told Ibushi to light them and put them on the night stands on either side of the bed. The task was simple enough; it was only another minute before the sweet smell of sugar and vanilla began to drift through the room. While he was at it, he closed his blinds for the night, allowing them some extra privacy.

The third-year stared at the ceiling and listened to the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. He knew he'd agreed to this, but Ibushi still wondered how he wound up like this: indulging Akoya through sampling a mud mask with him. He and Kinshiro had both done similar things in the past, allowing the second-year to bring them places that his family owned for the sake of gaining a new opinion. They were opportunities to spend time with one another and, even better, the services they received were on the house. Not that he couldn't afford going to the places himself, but even people as wealthy as the Arimas like free stuff.

"I've gone to the spa before." Ibushi voiced. "I think you've _taken_ me to the spa before."

"Trust me, this is different from the spa." The water turned off and Ibushi heard some shuffling, like things were being arranged in a box.

Another minute later and Akoya emerged from the bathroom carrying a small caddy, filled with supplies that Ibushi couldn't recognize, even when he sat back up to try to get a better look. Akoya put the caddy down on Ibushi's desk and took a pair of headbands out of it. As he walked over to the bed, Akoya put one of them over his head and let it hang around his neck.

"Okay, first thing is getting your hair out of the way." He instructed, handing Ibushi one of the headbands. "Put that on so it holds your bangs up." Then, he walked back towards the desk again.

Ibushi did as he was told and then watched Akoya finish doing the same thing to himself, with a bit more difficulty because of the length of his hair. Once he was satisfied, Akoya took the caddy and brought it to the foot of the bed, removing two washcloths once he'd sat down on the mattress.

"Now put this over your face." He ordered, handing one of the cloths to Ibushi. "The steam'll open your pores so the mud can do its job."

Ibushi nodded and watched Akoya drape his cloth over his face and lay down on his back. The older boy followed his example and all of his vision was taken up by the white fabric on his face.

"Start relaxing." Akoya's voice was quieter now, and muffled by the washcloth. "Just focus on the warmth of the water and the smell of the candles." He took a deep breath through the nose and then fell silent again, leaving Ibushi's mind to wander about in the peace of the room.

It was nice, sitting in a quiet area like this for a change. Normally Ibushi was accompanied by others, who were almost always talking. A lot of the time, he was either the topic of conversation or a part of it, so laying down in his wing of the house, in the presence of someone else but not talking, was very welcome.

Only a few minutes later, he felt weight shifting to his left. Akoya was moving a bit, maybe sitting up?

"That should be long enough." His voice was clear again. Ibushi sat up and took the cloth off of his face, suddenly feeling a bit of a chill now that the source of heat was gone. He looked at Akoya and noticed a slight flush on the other boy's face, most likely from the hot water.

Akoya snatched up both cloths, reached for the caddy, and pulled it between the two of them. He adjusted his position so that he was across from Ibushi on the bed, setting out in front of them a large plastic jar containing a brown substance, a mirror, some towels, and… a paint brush? Once he put the washcloths back in the caddy, Akoya grabbed the jar and unscrewed the lid, revealing what looked kind of like cement to Ibushi. Then, he took the paint brush in his hand and swiped it in the stuff in the jar.

"Now's the fun part." Akoya claimed with a smile. "Putting the mud on our faces."

"Why do you use a paint brush?" Ibushi wondered out loud.

"I used to use my fingers but using a brush is just… more fun. It's kind of like painting." Akoya playfully explained. "I'll put it on you and then you can put it on me, okay?"

Ibushi just nodded before he felt something cold and moist touch his right cheek. The bristles lightly tickled his skin as Akoya worked the brush to spread the mask onto more of Ibushi's face, the feeling retracting every so-often when the brush needed to be re-dipped into the mud.

To Ibushi, it felt like a long time had passed while Akoya painted the mud onto him. But it had to have lasted for only a few minutes. After a little while, he didn't even feel the bristles that much anymore. Was he just getting used to it or was this stuff thick enough to block the sensation?

One more stroke to his nose and Ibushi opened his eyes (when had he even closed them? He didn't remember closing his eyes!) Akoya pulled the brush back to grab his mirror. He held it up and Ibushi saw that his whole face, minus his eye lids and lips, were coated in a layer of mud. "Now, do it like this on my face, got it?"

Ibushi nodded.

Akoya put down the mirror and handed him the brush. "Just make sure you apply it evenly, okay?"

"I'll do my best." Ibushi picked up the jar of mud and swiped the brush in it before looking back at Akoya. He was staring in Ibushi's direction, but not particularly looking at him. It was like he was focusing on the space around Ibushi instead, maybe getting lost in thought in the process. That is, until about ten seconds later.

"Come on." He ordered. "Hurry up, before yours hardens too much!"

"Alright, alright." The older boy appeased, putting his first stroke onto Akoya's right cheek, like he'd done moments ago. And another, and then he made a small circle… and got an idea. _Like painting, huh…?_

Ibushi dipped the brush into the jar again and placed a matching circle on Akoya's left cheek, then filled the two of them in. _Aww, it's kind of like he's blushing._

After that, Ibushi wasn't sure what came over him. He started putting more mud on him… and the next thing he knew Akoya had twin daisies decorating his face. _Cute!_ Ibushi was sure he was blushing under his own mask.

"What are you doing?" Akoya questioned, clearly getting annoyed by the other's pace. "Go faster."

"S-sorry." Ibushi quickly painted over his little flowers and managed to get Akoya's whole face covered within the next two minutes. "How'd I do?"

Akoya took his mirror again and inspected the other boy's work. "For a first try, you did well." He complimented. "I have no clue why you took forever to do my cheeks though."

"Just… getting the hang of it." Oh, Ibushi hoped his smile was believable. "What do we do now?"

"Now," Akoya scooted up towards the headboard and stacked two of Ibushi's pillows on top of each other. "we let it sit for twenty minutes. Want to watch some TV in the meantime?"

"Sure." Ibushi grabbed the remote to the flat screen hanging on the wall opposite his bed and turned it on. "Any requests?"

Akoya hummed in thought. "Not really? I don't think you'd enjoy what I like to watch."

"And what kind of shows are those?" Ibushi asked as he went back to the bed and reclined beside Akoya, resting his back against a pillow stack Akoya had made for him.

He began flipping through the channels as Akoya muttered. "You'd laugh…"

"Come on," Ibushi playfully knocked his shoulder into Akoya's. "you can't be worse than me. My TV's almost always on HGTV, unless there's an interesting documentary on."

Akoya chuckled. "That's so like you." He sat up again and propped up the pillows like Ibushi had before sitting back. "I like… reality shows."

The smallest laugh bubbled in Ibushi's throat. "Somehow I'm not surprised."

They spent a few minutes just going from one channel to the next, making small commentary about each one they passed by. They'd fallen into that comfortable rhythm until there was a knock at the door. "Ibushi-san!" It was Mayu.

Of course this peace wouldn't last forever… Ibushi stood and walked towards the door, stopping a few steps before it. "What is it?"

"May I come in?"

"You may." He allowed.

The knob turned and Mayu poked her head through the opening. When she took notice of Ibushi and Akoya's faces, she smiled brightly. "What's going on in here?"

"Akoya wanted me to sample this mud mask with her." Ibushi supplied.

Akoya groaned from his spot on the bed, immediately falling into character. "Ibu-chan, I just wanted you to relax! You're always so tense."

"He's a bit of a worrier, isn't he?" Mayu added.

"Yes!" Akoya exclaimed.

Mayu giggled. "Okay, I won't keep you long then, Ibushi. I just wanted to tell you that my shift ended for the night, so Aya might come by to check on you later."

"Alright." Ibushi answered.

"Okay, I'll see you on Monday." Ibushi nodded and she left, closing the door behind her. Another minute passed before Ibushi went back to the bed and layed back down to resume channel surfing.

"How often does someone come find you like that?" Akoya questioned.

"It depends." Ibushi stated. "Usually every few hours but, considering you're here tonight, it might be more frequent."

"Wow." Akoya mused. "Sometimes I go all afternoon without someone looking for me."

After that, conversation died down to idle comments about the different channels until they settled on some competitive cooking show. Then, their talking shifted to whatever was happening on the show. A few commercial breaks later and Akoya decided that it was time for their masks to come off. The two of them washed the mud off and Ibushi felt a difference the minute it come off. It felt like a breeze had hit him as the air once again met his skin. The closest thing he could compare it to would be the feeling in his mouth right after he'd brushed his teeth.

"Well?" Akoya was looking up at him expectantly.

"I definitely feel it." Ibushi replied.

"Yep. In the morning look in the mirror and you'll see your skin's tone will be more even." Akoya slid off the headband holding his bangs up and began sectioning his hair into two parts. Then he went into his bag and took out his brush.

"Now what are you doing?" Ibushi questioned.

"Braiding my hair." Akoya replied, hands already working on the left side. "So it doesn't get all knotty while I sleep."

"Would you like me to braid it for you?"

Akoya's dark blue eyes shot up to meet Ibushi's face, more surprised than anything. Akoya almost never let anyone touch his hair, but Ibushi had gotten the "honor," as Akoya called it, before. He'd braided it for him on the way to the beach one time, just to keep in-practice. And, just like last time, Akoya was hesitant but he eventually said "Yes."

Akoya sat down on the foot of the bed and took his hands out of his hair, holding the brush out for Ibushi to take. He did so gingerly and sat down behind Akoya and brought one of the sections to rest against Akoya's back.

"You always do two braids when you go to sleep?" Ibushi asked as he got to work.

"Yeah." Akoya answered. "They're easier to sleep with than one big one."

Ibushi just nodded and hummed in response, noticing that Akoya's focus had turned back to the TV. The commercial break was over and the challenge the chefs were participating in was winding down. He was only half paying attention as he brushed Akoya's hair free of knots and began the first braid. The only background noise was the TV for a few more minutes. And then there was a knock at the door.

"Ibushi-san." It sounded like Aya. "May I come in?"

The two looked at each other and Akoya nodded.

"Yes." Ibushi replied.

The door knob turned and a short woman with a mole next to her nose stepped inside. Yep, Aya. "Sorry to intrude, Ibushi-san, I just-" She stopped when she saw the scene before her, watching as Ibushi finished off Akoya's first braid.

"Yes?"

She cleared her throat and went on. "I wanted to remind you that your parents are flying in early this morning, and ask if Akoya-san was staying for much longer."

"I'm aware." Ibushi answered. "And Akoya will be staying until late; we planned on watching some movies together."

Akoya giggled. "And it's my turn to pick, Ibu-chan~!"

"Uh-uh," Ibushi playfully countered. "it's _my_ turn to pick."

Akoya pouted and crossed his arms. "Okay, fine."

"Alright then…" Aya awkwardly interjected. "Let someone know if you need a car to take her home, Ibushi-san."

"I will."

Aya left and shut the door behind her gently. Ibushi began working on Akoya's second braid.

"I thought you said it was every few hours." Akoya complained.

"Usually." Ibushi reminded him. "Me being alone up here with my girlfriend might not sit right with Mayu, but Aya's usually a lot calmer. She should leave us alone for a while."

Akoya hummed in understanding and sat quietly while Ibushi braided the other half of his hair. After he secured it with a hair tie, Ibushi muttered a "done" before standing up and walking to the cabinet under the TV. He opened it up to reveal his collection of movies and looked back at Akoya, who was still seated on the bed.

"So," He began. "what are you in the mood to watch?"

They spent a good fifteen minutes deliberating on what title to put into the DVD player. Finally, they settled on a movie that Ibushi had honestly forgotten he'd owned until he was reading titles off to Akoya: The Parent Trap. It was decided that neither one wanted to get too invested in an emotional movie, or make the commitment to watch a long one, so ultimately a light-hearted movie was the way to go.

Ibushi put in the DVD while Akoya blew out the candles, and turned off the lights. Once it was playing, the two got comfortable on Ibushi's bed. They stayed side by side for a short while and then Akoya moved. He sat up, picked up one of Ibushi's arms, put his head down on Ibushi's chest, and draped the arm back over himself.

Before Ibushi could even say anything, Akoya explained himself. "If someone walks in on us again, we've gotta be playing the part right?" One of Akoya's arms wrapped itself around Ibushi's middle. "Is this okay?"

Ibushi didn't know what to say, so he just gripped Akoya's shoulder and pulled him a little closer.

Aya came back in one more time, about an hour into the movie. Though position had changed multiple times, the two of them were still hanging off of each other in the darkness of the bedroom, hardly disturbed by the woman peeking in to see what was going on. She commented on how much she loved the movie before taking her leave again, leaving the "couple" to themselves.

As the movie reached its end, Ibushi felt Akoya relaxing more against him, snuggling against his chest once or twice in the process. He wasn't sure when it happened, but when he looked down as the credits began rolling, Ibushi noticed that Akoya had fallen asleep. He yawned himself and oh-so-expertly maneuvered a throw blanket from the foot of the bed and on top of the two of them. Ibushi nuzzled the top of Akoya's head as he accepted the fact that he wasn't going to be moving until morning.


	10. Chapter 10

***Shows up with a chapter after 2 weeks again***

 **Hey guys, guess what? I actually have a reason for my absence this time! Basically since I last updated this fic, I got talking with my friend (Girly411 on AO3) about this idea that she had and now we're starting to write a Boueibu AU together! We've already got the first chapter done, but we wanted to have a few more ready in case school got hectic for either of us so... that's what I've been up to! We hope to put up the first chapter within the next week so keep a look out for it! We'll only be posting it on AO3 though because we know how to do co-author stuff on there and... have no clue if we even can on**

 **Anyway, I've held you up long enough. I'll let you get back to Akorima cute~.**

* * *

Akoya had been drifting in and out of consciousness for some time now. Every so often his brain would begin to wake up, only to be shut down again because of how comfortable he was. His body was wrapped around something warm and soft, that rose and fell in time with his own breathing. He was aware of the object draping over his shoulders and the other one resting on his waist, but he didn't care enough to figure out what they were. Within their grasp, against this lovely pillow, he felt warm and safe. Akoya was content and that was all that mattered to him.

Occasionally the thing holding Akoya would fidget or change position slightly, but it never released him. At one of these points, Akoya realized that the thing over his waist was an arm because he could feel a hand resting right above his hip bone.

That was when the memories of the previous night came back to Akoya. He'd spent the afternoon with Ibushi and then they came back to his house to begin their sleepover scheme. He supposed that it was working so far, since they'd managed to fall asleep during a movie… in each other's arms.

Akoya's eyes quickly fluttered open, taking in his surroundings. His head was resting on Ibushi's chest, arms wrapped around the older boy's middle as well as possible. The light was still filtering through the cracks in the blinds, the sunlight still slightly irritating to Akoya's half-asleep eyes. So he nuzzled his face into Ibushi, trying to hide from the light with a moan.

For a second, Ibushi's steady breathing went out of time. Then Akoya felt him nuzzle back, pushing his nose into the younger teen's hair with a content exhale. Akoya blushed at the response he'd received and sat up a bit, resting most of his weight on his elbow… which was feeling tingly from both himself and Ibushi sleeping on top of that arm.

As if responding to the sudden lack of a head under his chin, Ibushi's dark red eyes opened, resting fondly with a smile on Akoya. "Good morning."

"G-good morning." Akoya stammered, letting go of Ibushi and scooting a few inches away. "Sorry I woke you up."

"You didn't wake me." Ibushi assured. "I've been awake for a little while, but I didn't want to move and disturb you."

"Oh… sorry for the inconvenience then."

"It was no inconvenience."

Akoya yawned and looked around the room. When had the TV been turned off? "What time is it?"

Ibushi took his phone from the nightstand and unlocked it. "6:15." He put it back, sat up, and stretched his arms over his head. "My parents should be home by now." His arms fell back to his sides and he laid back down.

"Does that mean someone will be up to get you soon?" Akoya questioned.

Ibushi nodded. "Any minute now."

The pair waited in silence for a rather awkward moment. Or, it was awkward for Akoya. He'd fallen asleep with the TV on. If Ibushi had done the same, then that meant that someone had come into the room and turned it off at some point. Did that change anything? Did Ibushi's parents already know he'd spent the night? Oh, Akoya hoped he was just over-thinking this whole thing.

Knocks resounded on the door before it creaked open, revealing that woman with the mole from last night… Aya was her name..?

"Oh, good, you two are awake now." _Crap._ "Ibushi-san, your parents have just arrived and they know that you… have a guest."

Ibushi groaned. "Thanks, Aya."

Aya smiled sympathetically at him and Akoya. "I'm sorry, this is part of my job. The masters of the house have every right to know who's in it. Come down to the kitchen soon; you can all talk over breakfast." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

They waited for a minute but heard no footsteps outside the door. Ibushi sighed and rolled onto his side to face Akoya. "What do we do now?" Was it just him or was Ibushi speaking a bit louder than he needed to?

Then he winked and Akoya got the hint, going into character. "I don't know, I'm… I'm sorry Ibu-chan, I shouldn't have fallen asleep."

"Hey, hey." Ibushi hushed. "It's not your fault; I fell asleep too."

"But…" Akoya made himself sound more upset. "But you were supposed to walk me home after we-" Akoya gasped. "Ibu-chan, what if your parents don't let me see you anymore?"

"They won't do that-"

"How do you know?" Akoya cut him off. "You told me you didn't date anyone before me; we have no idea how they'll react-"

"Akoya." Ibushi called with a stern, even voice. "It's going to be alright; I promise."

Akoya softened his voice. "Ibu-chan…"

"I promise that." Ibushi kissed his hand. "We are gonna be." He did it again. "Just fine." And again. "Okay?"

Akoya nodded, trying not to giggle at how stupid all of this was. He failed. "Okay."

"Alright." Finally, the two of them heard footsteps against the hardwood and they smirked at one another. Damn, they were good!

Ibushi stood up and walked up to the door leading into his closet, on the other side of his night stand. "I'm just going to change my shirt quickly. If you'd like to do anything before we go downstairs, feel free to use the bathroom."

"Thank you." Akoya stood from the bed and began the search for his hairbrush while Ibushi went into the closet. "Do you think we left that open enough?"

"Definitely." Came Ibushi's faint reply. "Hey, Akoya…"

"Hmm?" He replied. Finally, he found his brush.

Ibushi stepped out of the closet while buttoning up a blue polo. "I'm having more fun with this than I originally thought.

Akoya smiled at him and gripped his brush. "Me too."

* * *

After one trip to the bathroom each and fifteen minutes of Akoya brushing out his hair, he and Ibushi made their way down to the dining area. They were greeted by a decent spread of food on the table and two neutral expressions from Mr. and Mrs. Arima. The heads of the house watched carefully as the pair sat down beside each other and started making up plates.

Ibushi's father was the first to break the silence. "Good morning."

"Good morning." His mother said a few seconds later.

"Welcome home." Ibushi answered. "How was Iceland?"

"Warmer than you'd first think." Mrs. Arima replied. "How was your evening?"

Ibushi cleared his throat and glanced at Akoya, who was blushing beside him. "Oh, it was uh…" He definitely made it look like he couldn't find the correct words. "We had a nice time. I took Akoya out for dinner last night and we came back here to watch some movies."

"And she spent the night?" Ibushi's mother added.

"Well, um…" Ibushi started poking at his food. "Yeah, that's what wound up happening."

"And how does something like this 'wind up' happening?" His father continued.

Akoya started twirling some hair around his finger. "Well you uh… fall asleep."

Ibushi's father smirked at him. "Must've tired her out on this date, huh?"

"Dad, I swear, we didn't do anything." Ibushi protested.

"We really didn't." Akoya repeated.

"We just fell asleep while we were watching a movie." Ibushi explained.

It was silent for a bit longer than Akoya had hoped. Did they sound defensive enough? Was what they said too much? Or too little? There were still more parts to this plan, but was this one offense somehow enough for them?

Ibushi's parents exchanged a look before his mom sighed. "Alright, we believe you. Just make sure that this never happens again, understood?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

After what had to be the most awkward breakfast Akoya had ever had to sit through, he collected his things and Ibushi walked him back into the city. On the way, Akoya sent a text to his driver asking to be picked up in front of the school. It wasn't too far away, but the two of them have found that these walks after their "dates" to be helpful. It gave both of them time to cool down, prepare for what would come next, and figure out if they needed to adjust anything in their plan.

It seemed like the Arimas weren't _too_ upset by their sleepover, so they might have to make another offense in a few weeks. But that would entirely depend on what Ibushi's parents say to him when Akoya isn't around.

Then Ibushi made a suggestion for their next move, should they need one. He said that maybe they should go to commoners' hangouts and come back with souvenirs for his parents to find. Akoya wanted to laugh at the idea until Ibushi explained his reasoning further.

It was no secret anymore that Ibushi was a sheltered child, and still was sheltered. His parents were surely trying to keep him from something, even if he didn't know what that was yet. Ibushi wanted to have more experiences with things that average people did. He wanted to see more of the world and this was the perfect opportunity to do it. If his parents thought that Akoya was taking him to these places that they tried to keep him away from, surely there would be some kind of reaction.

Akoya wanted to reject the proposal. He really did. Right from the moment Ibushi said he'd like to visit a "thrift store" Akoya wrinkled his nose and thought _no way._ But he looked so genuinely interested and excited that… Akoya didn't have the heart to say no. He was already pretending to date the guy, which was a big deal. So, he might as well take another one for the team… and at least say he'd think about it.

One of the family limos pulled up in front of the school gates and the pair said their goodbyes as Akoya opened the door and climbed in.

"Good morning, Akoya-san." The driver greeted plainly. He started driving again the moment Akoya was settled in the back seat. Akoya barely got a chance to watch Ibushi's form fade into the distance, but he managed a quick glance.

The ride home was silent, as usual. But Akoya didn't mind. It gave him time to think and organize things in his head. What did he have to do today? How much homework did he still have to do? Was he sure he did _everything_ Kinshiro had told him to complete this week? And, most importantly, would he be able to manage these "commoners excursions" Ibushi wanted to go on? These questions occupied him until they reached his home.

"Welcome home, Akoya." He was greeted the instant he walked in the front door by Emi, one of his personal maids. She was a petite woman, her head only reaching Akoya's chest when she stood upright, and had gorgeous long black hair. Emi had been working at the house since Akoya was three years old and was somehow assigned to the specific task of caring for him a couple of years later. He didn't remember the details, but Akoya'd known the woman for most of his life. She was one of the few constants within it.

He greeted her back as he toed off his shoes and immediately made his way up to the second floor, where his personal wing of the house was located. Every room down this one hallway to the right of the staircase belonged to him. The bedrooms, the bathrooms, the living spaces, and every single closet.

They were all a part of his space, and even a stranger could tell that Akoya had been a heavy influence on the wing's entire design. Whites, beiges, and creams were colors used in every one of Akoya's rooms. Tasteful pastels added a splash of color, saving his favorite pinks for the bedroom that he actually called his own. The rest were merely used as closet spaces or guest rooms, if the need applied. Chandeliers, crystal doorknobs, and ample natural light from big windows… the entire wing wasted no time in sharing Akoya's expensive taste.

When he got to his bedroom, Akoya tossed his bag onto the couch and shrugged off the jean jacket he'd been wearing since yesterday as he entered his closet. He shut the door behind him and dropped the jacket on a nearby ottoman, next working on unzipping his dress and stepping out of it. _Those definitely both need a wash._ He mused as he looked over the lines of clothes covering the walls, stopping when his eye caught his reflection in one of the many mirrors installed in the space.

He smiled at his reflection. Beautiful, as always. Though his hair could use another brushing, everything else was perfect. Flawless skin, a perfectly slim figure, just the right amount of muscle to show off some athleticism. He had to admit, he looked pretty damn good in just his underwear. But Akoya definitely preferred to be covered up. Clothing only enhanced his beauty, showcased it to everyone he encountered. And it was just more comfortable.

Because even someone as flawless as Akoya was could have insecurities. He hated showing too much skin; it just seemed so… indecent. Of course, he had shorts and tank tops for those scorching summer days, but he never enjoyed dressing for that kind of weather. It wasn't as fun as sporting a twirly skirt in the spring time or a fluffy sweater in the winter.

Akoya sighed, drawing his eyes away from his reflection and back to his racks of clothes. Ugh, he didn't know what he wanted to wear! Nothing stuck out to him, he'd worn everything that he'd gotten on his latest shopping trip… god, why was this so hard?! At least when he went to school he didn't have to choose what to wear every morning. Bless uniforms, seriously.

In the end, after he'd stood in the same spot for ten minutes and started to shiver a bit due to exposure, Akoya had settled for a cardigan over a plain shirt and skinny jeans. It wasn't like he planned on going anywhere else today anyway; he still had homework to finish for tomorrow.

Speaking of that, he should probably get going on it right away. So Akoya grabbed his school bag and sat on his sofa, pulling everything he needed out of his bag and piling it onto his coffee table. He double-checked his assignments and only then did he realize how much still needed to be done. He huffed. He was going to be here for a while.

About three worksheets and thirty math problems later, Akoya heard a knock on his door. "Come in." He said without taking his eyes off of his next example.

He heard the door open before Emi's voice reached him. "Hard at work?" Akoya just nodded. He heard the door close. "Can I get you anything, sweetie?"

Only then did Akoya look up at her. It still surprised him when she actually offered to get him things. That was mostly because… no one else did. If it was any of the other staff, they'd just make sure he was still alive and wouldn't otherwise come unless he called.

Not Emi. She actually seemed to… care.

"Um…" He glanced back down at his notebooks. "How long have I been up here?"

"About two hours." Emi replied. "Maybe a bit more."

"Then can I have some tea and a snack?" Akoya requested.

"Of course!" Emi chirped. "Oh! Guess what I went out and bought for you~." She didn't give him time to answer. "I went to that bakery that you like and got you a box of your macarons."

Akoya couldn't help but smile. "Really?"

"I did~." Emi sang as she opened the door again. "I'll make up a tray for you and be back up in a bit."

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

After Emi left, Akoya went back to his work. Sheesh, he still had ten more math examples to go… He wound up finishing half of them before Emi came back to his room, silver platter with his morning snack in-hand.

"Here you go." Emi set the tray down on the coffee table and Akoya's focus immediately turned to the steaming cup of tea and the delicate stack of macarons on a plate. "Come on, you've been at that long enough. You deserve a little break."

Akoya chuckled as he put his pencil down and picked up the cup of tea. "You're right." He took a sip and sighed contently. Ah, jasmine tea… good choice.

Emi sat on one of the armrests of the couch. "So, how was your night with Arima-san? Did you get all your work done?"

"We believe so." Akoya put down the teacup and went for the macarons. "We may need to revise it, depending on what happens tomorrow."

Emi hummed in agreement, staying silent until Akoya'd finished off the first macaron. "You've been spending a lot of time with Arima-san lately, I've noticed."

"Yes. A lot of business lately has demanded our joint effort."

"Just business, huh?" Akoya nodded in response. "Okay." Emi stood and made her way to the door. "I have a chore to get back to downstairs. Text me if you need anything, alright?"

Akoya took the teacup in his hands again. "Thank you, Emi."

After she left the room, Akoya drank some more of his tea. Somehow he wound up asking himself a similar question. Was spending all this time with Ibushi really just to help him out?


End file.
